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 sales, and that has left them running for the door even with huge profits: “RIM’s share of the global smart-phone market has indeed taken a hit from rising competition from Apple’s iphone and Android-based phones. According to International Data Corp., RIM controlled less than 15 per cent of the market in the fourth quarter, down from nearly 20 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 – a substantial ...

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Courtesy of the CS Monitor 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 hit hard. But none of this should come as a surprise to investors – who have witnessed monumental gains in stocks from 2009 to 2010. Bullish investor sentiment, surging oil prices, the threat of global inflation, and pending interest rate increases were all in place before the Japan earthquake. Many investors and analysts already felt markets were due for a significant ...

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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 seems much of the sell-off was an emotional trigger. World governments have come short of suspending the construction and funding of new reactors, and the shipments of uranium to power those reactors. Uranium for the military and nuclear medicine remains in demand. The moral implications of nuclear energy also remain ...

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I would like to extend my sympathies to the Japanese community, and for those of you who have been directly impacted by the recent earthquake in Japan. Wishing that your friends and family in Japan are safe and accounted for. The Dividend Ninja encourages you to make a donation to the Canadian Red Cross. Help to facilitate emergency supplies and the cost of deploying trained emergency response personnel. The Canadian Red Cross ~ Japan Earthquake You can also text the word ASIA to 30333 to make a one-time donation of $5 via your cell phone carrier. If you make a donation from this post, please comment below (even if you are anonymous).  I would like to know people were inspired to donate from this post. Thank You! Donations from this post as of March 17th, 2011 = $ 200.

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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 S&P/TSX was down 246 points today, and the Dow was down over 248 points, about -1.7% on each market. Arriving Late to the Party With recently rising commodity prices and low interest rates, stock markets have also continued their meteoric rise – especially here in Canada where our economy is largely based on the resource and energy sectors. Not surprisingly, oil, metals, ...

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