Technology and Manufacturing

Bob Dylan thought "Times, they are a changing" back in the 60's.  If he were alive today, what would he think about the robotic technology in today's manufacturing.  Okay, so he is alive, but that's not the point.

Phrases like "3D Printing" are all the buzz now.   WorldSkills International hosts an Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies  contest to highlight the State-of-the-Arts in this field.

For an in-depth look, catch Russ Robert's interview with former Editor of Wired and current CEO of DIY Drones, Chris Anderson, on Makers and Manufacturing.

Twitter: Chris Anderson @chr1sa Russ Roberts @EconTalker World Skills @WorldSkills 

May Money Matters

5/2/2011 - Silver is high and volatile.  SLV dropped hard today.  Cummins (CMI) and Caterpillar (CAT) Millicom (MICC) may be done rising.  Cliffs (CLF) is heading down.  Crown Castle continues its drop back to support.  PPH the Pharm index is nonstop up and definately needs a breather -- either stop out or hedge with a PUT.  Same for Merck (MRK) only it is about done filling the gap.  ABX is heading down again, however it never saw the highs of the other gold issues, an interesting factor is the high amount of volume.

5/18/2011 - The SLV PUT worked out well.  Exiting the trade early didn't full capture the move, but who expected such a dramatic fall for the shiny metal. 

Showers Market

4/7/2011 - Markets moving up.

4/12/2011 - Markets correcting downward.  JDSU and MSFT down, while NFLX looks to be done pulling back.  NVLS has been smacked back a few times, but still has upward quarterly MA.  The stock at 34 is 18% off the recent high.  SYK at 60, CAM at 53, and GLW at 19 look oversold.

While CTRP at 44 may be overbought.  EXPE filled the drop gap and may be done rising for a while.

4/13/2011 - Stocks which may hedge against a toppy market - ARM at 19.5, MWW near 17, RSH filling the gap at 17.

4/ 15/2011 - What is going up in a down market?  EIX, FE, PPL (Electric Utilities), CMA (Banks), VMW (System Software), COH (Apparel)

4/23/2011 - Between Good Friday (which was) and Easter Sunday it is time to reevaluate the market direction.  On a quarterly basis, the overall market is on an uptrend with the QQQQ, DIA, IWM, IWB, and SPY.  The QQQQ is a bit weak with the index falling below its quarterly moving average and the average looking to roll over.  Only in the last week has that trend broken.  The DIA is the only index breaking new highs, so far.

BDX and JNJ are nice PUTs for downside protection.

4/25/2011 Silver is up huge.  Perhaps ready for a break.  Watch SLV.

4/28/2011 Ben speaks, precious metals move up.  Humm.  NTAP, PCG, MHS, and WMT look set to pullback.  On the other side NE, ROK, ABX, NFLX, and CMG could bounce.

Market in Spring

3/21/2011 - Recent options in MSFT, CAT, CLF, XLE and XLB have performed well, yet the market seems perilous and vulnerable.  The above call options did indeed do well over the last few days, but the rise has been on low volume.  CAT, XLE and XLB (basic materials) seem poised to do well in the current climate of energy scares and natural disaster rebuilding.  MSFT on the other hand has simply been beaten down to the point of exhaustion.  Todays bounce was nice, but it gave a good chunk back before the day's end.  And the volume was lack luster.

3/24/2011 - The market has been moving up since a week ago Thursday.  The question is is this a fools rally.  Gains in CAT, CLF, XLE and XLB may travel, however the Dow Jones is showing a weak pattern.  The average hit its high on February 18th and has twice tried to rally back with each high less remarkable.  Over the last week the volume has been trailing off while the average increases.

SBUX has been all over the place with spikes, drops and more spikes.   The oil holder OIH gapped down on the 9th and has now filled that gap on decreasing volume.  Although, it looks like it might be an expensive summer for gas.  Individual oils pulled back early in the month and now are on the rally.  COP looking to recapture the highs.  CVX bounding off the 100 mark for a break to new highs.  The industrial spider XLI appears to have broken the down trend.  Gold is also on the rise, interestingly enough.    Brazil (EWZ) is trying to turn it around.

3/27/2011 - ADTN has pulled back from a tear and may have found support.  The Dow is looking strong, but the broader market isn't as powerful after the Japan earthquake.  Compare the three ETFs -- DIA strong, SPY okay and QQQ timid (renamed from QQQQ).

Pullbacks: RVBD, AMP, JDSU, and ADBE