Bull Markets Everywhere...

The BBC writes: According to Bonnie Taylor-Blake, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, Factory Management and Maintenance, a labour market newsletter, lays claim to the first use of the term Black Friday as it relates to the holiday. In 1951 the circular drew attention to the suspiciously high level of sickness that day.

"Friday-after-Thanksgiving-itis is a disease second only to the bubonic plague in its effects. At least that's the feeling of those who have to get production out, when Black Friday comes along. The shop may be half empty, but every absentee was sick - and can prove it." Its wide-spread use didn’t occur until the 1990s and the Friday after Thanksgiving wasn’t the biggest shopping day of the year until 2001.

It is the last trading day of the month and the bears are hiding. According to Investors Intelligence, a survey of letter writers shows the lowest level of bears in 25 years at 14.4 percent. The bulls too are running, although not at the highest pace but at levels usually, eventually, suggesting a market turn down (right now the percent of bears is 55.7). Given this year’s action, the bullish sentiment makes sense. Of the major global equity markets, only Mexico is down on the year (in China, the Shenzhen Composite is up 23.65 percent although the Shanghai index is down). The TSX has been a laggard (+7.5 percent) but some of its sectors have been on a tear such as Healthcare (+61 percent), Discretionary (+36 percent), IT (+33 percent), Industrials (+33 percent). The materials sector is the big laggard (down 32 percent). In the U.S., the top sectors are Healthcare (+38 percent) and Discretionary (+38 percent). While JC Penney is the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 year to date (and today is its last day in the index), it is the best performing stock in the month of November (+34.4 percent).

Art lovers might be astounded by this. The Heffel auction of Canadian Art which we previewed on BNN a week ago resulted in a record sale for an Emily Carr. The Crazy Stairs sold for $3.4 million versus an estimate of $1.2-1.6 million and other paintings went for three to four times expected bids. Wow – bull markets everywhere.

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Talking Turkey

 

• With U.S. markets closed, consider these items. Yesterday, the S&P 500 made its 38th new high for the year (the record in any one year was 1995 with 77). Year to date breadth remains very positive at 449 issues higher (the record was 458 in 2003). The best performing S&P stock so far this month (that won’t be an S&P stock next week) is JC Penney, +34.4 percent.

• Overnight, without the Americans directing the action, most markets moved higher with the Nikkei up more than 1 percent. The Japanese index has tacked on almost 1300 points since the beginning of the month (compared with a bit more than 500 points on the Dow).

• Other items of news include the first IPO in five years out of Portugal, German unemployment ticks higher for four months in a row (but the unemployment rate unchanged); Microsoft, according to reports, is leaning toward Ford’s Mulally to be the company’s new CEO; Saputo’s A$9.20 bid has been topped by the dairy co-operative by 30 Australian cents; and a deal in media this morning with DHX Media buying Family as well as Disney XD, Disney Junior (French and English) from Bell Media (the parent of BNN) for $170 million cash. We’ll be talking to the CEO of the company about 10:15 am ET this morning. DHX shares are up 140 percent this year alone. DHX recently purchased the rights to Teletubbies (you remember Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po and Tinky Winky) and is also well known by little ones for Caillou.

• In Moscow’s Red Square an iconic image of luxury and wealth was constructed to house a travelling exhibition of Louis Vuitton’s history. The giant 9 metre by 30 metre building is covered with the gold-on-brown pattern familiar to Baryshnikov, Annie Leibovitz, Catherine Deneuve and Sean Connery (among others) but not necessarily ever used by the ordinary Russian who Vladamir Putin has recently been courting. This box was constructed right next door to Lenin’s tomb. The Russians weren’t impressed. Apparently the charity which was to receive the proceeds from the travelling show is run by the Russian fiancé of the son of the CEO of LVMH. It is being taken down as Mr. Putin wasn’t pleased. I wonder what happened to the bureaucrat who gave the approval for the construction.

source: http://www.bnn.ca/Blogs/2013/11/28/Talking-Turkey-with-Frances.aspx