Will the PlayBook save RIM?

Last week on the day when Apple launched the iPad 2 , Research In Motion (RIM) shares dropped over 10%. That’s not to say that RIM was unprofitable, far from it. RIM reported a higher-than-forecast fourth-quarter profit on Thursday March 24th, with an increase in BlackBerry phone shipments of 52.3 million, a revenue growth of over $19.9 billion, and a 47% increase in earnings per share. And that is amidst a backdrop of iphone and Android sales, as pointed out in a recent Globe and Mail article. However, investors have lost confidence in RIM’s ability to innovate regardless of BlackBerry …

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The Japan Effect ~ a Week in Review

A week ago Japan was hit with a severe earthquake and tsunami, which decimated entire towns, wiped out basic infrastructure, and split friends and families apart. Japan is considered the most prepared country in the world for earthquake readiness. However, the colossal scale of this disaster is beyond what most of us have seen in our lifetime. Investors have been stunned not only by the catastrophic events in Japan, but also with the continuing unrest in Bahrain and Libya. It was no surprise that markets retreated heavily from last Friday through to Tuesday, with even the basic Dow stocks being …

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Uranium Stocks On Sale

The recent earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan is a colossal tragedy. Another potential tragedy is a man-made one, from Japan’s dependence on nuclear energy. With the impending melt-down of four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the world has become suddenly nervous about nuclear energy. Coupled with mass evacuations and possibility of widespread radioactive contamination in a heavily populated region, investors pulled the trigger Monday morning on a global sell-off of  uranium producers and juniors (see table below).  The selloff continued today with Denison Mines (DML-T) and Cameco (CCO-T) among other uranium producers losing value. However it …

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Investor Sentiment

Over the last few weeks I have become quite interested in both global inflation and investor sentiment. I find these are two indicators that give some direction of the markets. Unfortunately in the past it’s been an indicator of topped-out stock markets, with rising interest rates. I don’t base my investment decisions on a crystal ball, and neither should you. However the indicators are interesting to look at nonetheless. In this post I will look at the concept of investor sentiment as a signal of market direction – which if correct is currently indicating a topped-out stock market. Coincidentally, the …

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