What We're Reading

This comparison chart from Quartz speaks volumes.  We knew brick and mortar was dying a slow death but man...........

(click image to enlarge)

• Just goes to show you, when it's hated, it can outperform.  Who was the outperformer for your money in Q1?  Bonds baby! Bespoke
• Today is Option Expiration for some weekly options.  Monday will be end of month and end of quarter.  Redemption selling has been pretty vicious but orderly.  Some feel this is the beginning of a larger correction and that reaction rallies should be sold at the higher level.  Clear rotation out of tech and small caps into fixed income, financials and oil/gas. Kos picked up slivers of her favorites names last night looking for some window dressing.  Keep an eye on USD/JPY for proxy for risk appetite.  To those not so brave, let the market show it's direction before pulling the trigger and even then, be nimble and prepared to bail.
• 60 minutes will be doing a spot on Elon Musk and TSLA Sunday evening.
• Early on, there's been market chatter of further easing coming out of Japan and Fed's Evans talking to reporters that he feels rates won't be increased unt

• Variant Perceptions has been warning clients to beware of small caps as liquidity is withdrawn.  Large caps should become more in favor for many reasons, including cash on their balance sheets.

While the market continues to digest yesterdays' comments from new Fed Chairwoman Janice Yellen that rates will begin to rise possibly as early as six months after tapering is complete (mid-2015 rather than late 2015), banks are definitely yelling pahtay with big gains across the financial sector today.

Even $C (who I normally detest) is attempting to breakout of a beautiful double bottom pattern. 

Like it or not, banks will be more willing to lend in a rising rate environment and let's face it; it's tough to make a buck when you're lending at 3%.  I would imagine this will be good for broker/dealers as well although not shown here.  Now if only we could get Congress to do away with that pesky transaction tax debate.  Life would be wonderful.

Full disclosure; I'm long JPM and loving today's action.

• Don't tell Twitter but Women dominate social media (Infographic)
• Rent vs Buy.  Based on tax bracket, what areas are cheaper to rent? Trulia interactive Map
• Quite a few bearish engulfing charts in the major Spyder ETFs.  If you're not hedged you should be. Grid charts
• 3D Systems ($DDD) teams up with the White House and D.O.D. to provide access for the mfg. industry to the most advanced design.
• Where were you 30 years ago today when the first cell phones went on sale for the deeply discounted price of $4,000?  *lol* 

Of no surprise is that many of these names are in the phone/tablet and cloud arena.  One however that I am very interested in watching is the lawsuit between Aereo and large broadcasters (FOX, CMCSA, CBS and DIS).  Little, tiny underdog Aereo won the initial round in court however an appeal to the Supreme court ruling later this year is a make or break for broadcasters who typically do not charge for local channels for those with antennaes. 

I actually find it a thing of beauty that Aereo (who just began it's service in Cincinnati yesterday; it's eleventh U.S. city), saw that flaw and utilized it to their revenue model benefit.  Broadcasters are stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If they begin to "charge" for local with an antennae (pay for local tv?), the risk losing millions (of buying Americans) who will simply obtain local channels through their cable provider......and we will witness the slow death of local news

This in follow up to my February post pondering if the shipping index had bottomed which was most definitely chucked in to the round file by most as the market has become convinced the industry is dead.  I still beg to differ.

Being a big believer in moving averages, if I see a stock or Index with rising moving averages, I take it as a sign of buying within a name.  That being said, if I see falling longer term moving averages (100d and 200d), that to me signals trouble; stay away or short any pop.  However when I see longer term MA's flattening.......my curiosity is peaked from a bottom fishing point of view.  My first thought "is the bad news over and is it putting in a bottom?

After writing my February post, I put my money where my mouth was and bought $NAT looking for a reversal out of it's bottom (which it did) and today it absolutely plowed through it's 200d where I banked partial. 

Do I believe that it will hold?  No.  With so many shorts it's certain to be faded *and