'Twas the eve before Christmas and not a Santa rally in sight. Year-to-date the S&P 500 is on the cusp of a bear market, closing down -19.78% from its all-time high of 2,930.75 in September. The sell-off began in October and has been swift and fierce, summoning flashbacks of the S&P 500's harrowing drawdown of … Continue reading Fear and Santa
There's been a lot of chatter about high-frequency-trading (HFT) -- here's a quick take on the topic for people scratching their heads. What is HFT anyway? Imagine a stock that's moving up in price due to strong buying demand. A HFT program recognizes the trend and executes thousands of sequential buy and sell orders within … Continue reading The HFT Game
Many people have been talking about how gold prices plummeted last year. With a 29% loss in 2013, gold recorded its worst annual price decline since 1981. Meanwhile, fewer people seem to notice how silver prices got destroyed -- down by more than 37%! Year to date gold prices rebounded about 6% whereas silver prices … Continue reading Silver Lining
