Excellent chartist Colin Twiggs (Australia) is now showing technical breakdowns across many markets, including S&P 500 (where he thinks that the Oct-05 low of 1170 may be tested from the current 1267), and the Nikkei 225 (where he thinks the Nov-05 15,000 support level will be tested from the current 16,258.

Interestingly, both retractions would be "7.7 pct from today.

But that's a short-term move, which, if it occurs, could extend into a primary bear market later in 2006.

As I have said many times now, there is a credit bubble (and Americans are having difficulty borrowing more against assets and incomes) amidst a slowing economy. The residential real estate market in many cities is weakening at a dramatic rate.

But, as you know, real estate prices are not as volatile as stock and bond prices, so a broad-based decline in real estate may actually take place slowly and endure for many years, especially in the low-tax sun states of Florida, California and Nevada, to where people are flocking.

The Fed reported in its weekly (Thursday, 4:30 pm) release that money supply growth continues to boom in the U.S.. I still wonder how much of this is money borrowed in Japan at ridiculously low rates and invested in China and/or U.S. Treasury debt, which is the foreign carry trade I have written about.

That serves to boost the USD and depress the Yen, which in turn makes it easier for Japanese exporters to sell their goods, and more difficult for Americans to sell theirs. And as Japan has the world's second biggest economy, the total amount of currency involved is huge. And the worst of it is that this particular carry trade will continue to grow as long as the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates grows.

The Fed rate is now 4.50 pct and the Bank of Japan rate is 0.15 pct, which has been keeping the USD stronger than warranted by the U.S. economy. However, I think the next 50 basis points (50 bp) will be about equal for each country as Japan is starting to experience an overheated economy and some real estate inflation, which will require a higher BoJ central bank rate.

Beyond a Fed rate of 5.00 pct, the Fed will have to stop raising or else the domestic real estate market will be severely affected (higher mortgage rates and lower prices). But, simultaneously, I expect that the BoJ would have to continue raising, which would in due course dramatically strengthen the Yen vs the USD.

A falling USD would mean higher commodity prices, including gold and oil, and more funding from the Treasury to stop the bleeding of USD out of the domestic economy that is presently needed to pay the trade deficit, and the costs of fighting wars abroad.

And the U.S. money supply is growing rapidly as a consequence of these events, plus the fact that the economy is not picking up. A faster growing economy increases the turnover of money, which alleviates the need to print as much new money, but it also creates demand for bank loans, which increases the commercial bank lending rates.

So the U.S. is in a bind. While a coming recession is not a certainty, it's going to be a challenging economy, as I see it. Meanwhile the Treasury printing presses are at work.

For the 13 weeks ending Feb-09-06 (last figures available), the growth of M3 was +7.7 pct from the comparable period 52 weeks ago, +9.3 pct compared to 26 weeks ago, and +8.7 pct compared to 13 weeks ago.

So if total money supply is growing at about +9.0 pct and the economy is growing at less than +3.0 pct, something has to happen. There will be consumer and producer price inflation and/or the USD price of gold and oil will increase because the sellers of those valuable commodities are saying they refuse to take wooden nickels. They know what the global worth of their commodities are, and they can sell them anywhere.

There is only one way out of this dilemma, and that's to stop spending on things for which there is no economic return, and to stop borrowing for purposes of spending. There needs to be borrowing to invest at economic rates of return, and in order for that to occur there has to be creation and development of more Googles, Ebays, Yahoos, Apples, Sandisks, etc.

Unfortunately for the Americans, they seem to be happening in places like China and India.

---

Global Market Summary

U.S. Equities :

International Equities:

Dow 30:

U.S. Sector ETFs: 7 up and 3 down
10: Energy (XLE): -4.9 pct W/W
15: Basic Materials (XLB): -0.6 pct W/W
20: Industrials (XLI): +1.3 pct W/W
25: Cons. Discretionary (XLY): +0.3 pct W/W
30: Cons. Staples (XLP): flat this week (+0.04 pct)
35: Healthcare (IYH): -0.1 pct W/W
40: Financial (XLF): +1.1 pct W/W
45: Technology (SMH chips): +2.7 pct W/W
50: Telecom Services (IYZ): +2.3 pct W/W
55: Utilities (XLU): +0.3 pct W/W

Bonds: U.S. bonds dropped this week

Commodities: Serious decline this week

Oil & Gas: Serious decline on Friday

Gold: Serious decline on Friday

Goldminers: Serious decline on Friday

Forex: USD strengthened, mostly Friday

---

Sector ETF:

ETF trading is now the vehicle of choice for active individual traders, and for many institutions. I spend a lot of time on the Amex.com site for this reason.

On the Amex.com main page, there is a section called ETF Spotlight, which lists what's new, and a listing of the top volume trading ETF's for the day.

For the most active traders, you will typically find SPY (S&P 500 index), XLE (oil), IWM (Russell 2000 small caps), DIA (Dow 30 index), and XLF (financials).

When you see fast moves in one of these ETFs, as I did Friday afternoon with XLY (consumer cyclical spending), you need to click through the links at Amex.com to find the holdings, and then through the top holdings, in order to see what's happening.

On Friday, I could see movement in News Corp (NWS.A), EBAY, Target (TGT), Lowes (LOW), but I could not see it in Disney (DIS), Time Warner (TWX), Comcast (CMCS.A), Viacom (VIA.B) or Home Depot (HD), so I assessed the move in XLY as being localized.

This is the new investing, so you had better get used to looking at markets that way. I'll set up the ETF charts, so you can instantly click on all the heaviest weighted charts.

For the U.S. equity market, as you know, I study it top down by sector. Here are the ETF charts for the ten sectors I follow:

10 (energy: XLE)

15 (basic materials: XLB)

20 (industrial: XLI)

25 (consumer discretionary: XLY)

30 (consumer staples: XLP)

35 (healthcare: IYH)

40 (financial: XLF)

45 (technology, semiconductor: SMH)

50 (telecom: IYZ)

55 (utilities: XLU)

Here is the weekly performance of my favorite ten Sector Index Funds. The table is sorted by price performance Week over Week (W/W), i.e. 1W%N, but is otherwise unsorted.

Symbol	Close	Net	%Net	1W %Net	2W %Net	4W %Net	YTD %Net	3M %Net	6M %Net	Yr %Net
SMH	38.11	-0.38	-0.99%	2.72%	-0.31%	-4.75%	0.50%	5.39%	3.56%	16.26%
IYZ	24.33	0.23	0.95%	2.27%	1.93%	3.49%	5.92%	4.15%	1.16%	5.14%
XLI	31.86	0.20	0.63%	1.34%	0.76%	0.41%	0.73%	4.56%	5.67%	4.73%
XLF	31.92	0.17	0.54%	1.08%	-0.78%	-1.81%	-0.87%	1.33%	7.55%	5.24%
XLY	33.25	0.06	0.18%	0.33%	-0.54%	-0.92%	0.76%	1.03%	-3.20%	-1.98%
XLU	31.76	0.00	0.00%	0.32%	-1.82%	-0.59%	-0.75%	2.72%	0.57%	9.25%
XLP	23.21	-0.03	-0.13%	0.04%	-1.36%	-1.28%	-0.98%	-1.11%	0.48%	-0.81%
IYH	63.51	-0.19	-0.30%	-0.06%	-1.15%	-1.63%	-0.19%	2.52%	1.15%	9.99%
XLB	30.90	-0.06	-0.19%	-0.58%	-2.22%	1.28%	-0.06%	9.50%	7.07%	4.78%
XLE	52.54	-0.19	-0.36%	-4.85%	-7.26%	-2.38%	-0.30%	11.57%	5.54%	31.12%

---

Sector 10 (energy: XLE, IYE, VDE, OIH, PBW and IXC)

Here's the XLE Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLE Weekly data:

XLE Daily data:

XLE Hourly data:

XLE was down "4.85 pct W/W to 52.54 on very large volume. XOM was down "3.2 pct.

That's two bad weeks in a row for XLE " a tough Feb, after a terrific rally in early through mid-January. Probably another down week to come before a rally.

Two weeks ago, at 56.65, I recommended, "I still think it is wise to scale back positions by selling into this strength."

Then a week ago I wrote: "A covered call strategy may earn some options premium, but on strength you need to scale back. Again, this is not to say I'm bearish on XLE (I'm still over-weighted due to corporate operating cash flows); but the economic signs, and technical (momentum) indicators are weakening, so the stocks will increasingly come under pressure."

By the end of next week, I expect to see a brief rally, and I think it would be wise to sell some additional positions into strength.

The problem is that the USD is stronger than expected and it could run up here, which would serve to pressure the consumable commodities (like oil) lower. So, watch the USD, and the whole U.S. energy group before making decisions on XLE.

---

Sector 15 (basic materials: IYM, XLB, IGE and VAW)

Here's the XLB Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLB Weekly data:

XLB Daily data:

XLB Hourly data:

XLB was down "0.58 pct W/W to close at 30.90. That's two tough weeks in Feb for the Basic Materials, with weakness probably extending into next week before any rally.

Dupont (NYSE: DD +4.6 pct W/W) led this sector. As oil prices come down, the chemicals industry group (which uses oil as a raw material) will do better.

---

Sector 20 (industrial: IYJ, XLI, VIS, and IYT)

Here's the XLI Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLI Weekly data:

XLI Daily data:

XLI Hourly data:

XLI was up +1.34 pct W/W to 31.86.

The Bulls seem to want the Industrials to be the market leader here. The RSI looks good on the Weekly and Daily price data.

---

Sector 25 (consumer discretionary: XLY, IYC and VCR)

Here's the XLY Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLY Weekly data:

XLY Daily data:

XLY Hourly data:

XLY was up marginally +0.33 pct W/W to 33.25.

I noted earlier that a relatively few stocks like NWS.A, EBAY, TGT and LOW took XLY higher on Friday afternoon. I don't see the same strength across the board in this sector.

---

Sector 30 (consumer staples: XLP, VDC, RTH and IYK)

Here's the XLP Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLP Weekly data:

XLP Daily data:

XLP Hourly data:

XLP (Consumer Staples) was flat at 23.21.

---

Sector 35 (healthcare: IYH, XLV, VHT, IXJ, and IBB)

Here's the IYH Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

IYH Weekly data:

IYH Daily data:

IYH Hourly data:

IYH (Healthcare) was marginally down "0.06 pct W/W to 63.51. Merck (NYSE: MRK) was soft, down "0.23 pct on the week.

---

Sector 40 (financial: IYG, IYF, XLF, VFH, IXG, VNQ, RWR, IYR, and ICF)

Here's the XLF Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLF Weekly data:

XLF Daily data:

XLF Hourly data:

XLF (Financials) was the fifth most active ETF, and enjoyed a gain of +1.08 pct W/W to 31.92.

AIG gained +3.9 pct this week accompanied by much talk on CNBC about delays in prosecution until after Eliot Spitzer leaves office.

---

Sector 45 (technology: IGM, IGV, IGW, XLK, VGT, IYW, IGN, IXN, MTK and SMH)

Here's the SMH Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

SMH Weekly data:

SMH Daily data:

SMH Hourly data:

SMH (semiconductor technology) had the strongest week of all these ETFs, but SMH peaked mid-day Thursday. On the week it was up +2.72 pct, closing at 38.11.

If you look closely at the INTC chart however, you'll see a one-hour pop at the open Thursday and some strength Friday afternoon, which took INTC up +1.4 pct on the week. Most of the rest - since Feb 2 - has been spent in distribution.

---

Sector 50 (telecom: IYZ, VOX and IXP)

Here's the IYZ Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

IYZ Weekly data:

IYZ Daily data:

IYZ Hourly data:

IYZ (Telecom Services) was very strong, up +2.27 pct W/W to 24.33.

A lot of that strength came from Verizon (NYSE: VZ +1.6 pct W/W). If you look at the VZ chart you'll see a gap open on Wed and high closes on Wed-Thurs-Fri. So somebody wants you to think it's stronger than it really is.

---

Sector 55 (utilities: IDU, XLU, and VPU)

Here's the XLU Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

XLU Weekly data:

XLU Daily data:

XLU Hourly data:

XLU (Utilities) was up +0.32 pct to 31.76. he previous two weeks, XLU was down "3.3 pct, so I take this modest recovery as a bounce from an over-sold condition as opposed to a move of any significance.

---

Bonds:

This was a tough week for the bond market, including U.S. Treasuries, where yields on all the series except the 30-year went up (7 to 11 bp). But the 30-year T-Bond yield fell from 4.62 pct to 4.55 pct.

With T-Bills at 4.33 pct, the spread between the 30-year and 3-month Treasury paper is now just +22 bp.

And the spread between the 10-year (4.58) and 2-year (4.67) Treasuries has gone further negative ("9 bp), which is putting more pressure on the commercial lending banks.

Weekly data charts:

Daily data charts:

Hourly data charts:

US Treasury Bonds

Maturity	Yield	Yesterday	Last Week	Last Month
3 Month	4.33	4.31	4.26	4.10
6 Month	4.48	4.44	4.41	4.23
2 Year	4.67	4.64	4.56	4.41
3 Year	4.64	4.60	4.52	4.38
5 Year	4.58	4.53	4.47	4.38
10 Year	4.58	4.54	4.51	4.44
30 Year	4.55	4.64	4.62	4.62

Municipal Bonds

Maturity	Yield	Yesterday	Last Week	Last Month
2yr AA	3.04	3.05	3.05	3.02
2yr AAA	3.04	3.05	3.06	2.97
2yr A	3.24	3.16	3.09	2.99
5yr AAA	3.19	3.19	3.18	3.16
5yr AA	3.22	3.22	3.20	3.16
5yr A	3.30	3.31	3.29	3.22
10yr AAA	3.56	3.58	3.58	3.53
10yr AA	3.55	3.57	3.56	3.51
10yr A	3.65	3.66	3.70	3.57
20yr AAA	3.99	4.02	4.04	4.01
20yr AA	4.02	3.99	3.99	3.97
20yr A	4.06	3.99	3.94	4.02

Corporate Bonds

Maturity	Yield	Yesterday	Last Week	Last Month
2yr AA	4.81	4.75	4.69	4.55
2yr A	4.84	4.80	4.73	4.59
5yr AAA	4.79	4.74	4.72	4.63
5yr AA	4.89	4.83	4.77	4.69
5yr A	4.97	4.94	4.85	4.77
10yr AAA	5.18	5.15	5.16	5.13
10yr AA	5.21	5.15	5.11	5.03
10yr A	5.22	5.18	5.16	5.13
20yr AAA	5.50	5.49	5.47	5.50
20yr AA	5.71	5.99	5.77	5.70
20yr A	5.70	5.68	5.61	5.65

Interest rates and bond yields.

US Bond Funds -- Monthly Data Charts

SHY Monthly data series chart:

IEF Monthly data series chart:

TLT Monthly data series chart:

AGG Monthly data series chart:

LQD Monthly data series chart:

TIP Monthly data series chart:

US Bond Funds -- Weekly Data Charts

SHY Weekly data series chart:

IEF Weekly data series chart:

TLT Weekly data series chart:

AGG Weekly data series chart:

LQD Weekly data series chart:

TIP Weekly data series chart:

US Bond Funds -- Daily Data Charts

SHY Daily data series chart:

IEF Daily data series chart:

TLT Daily data series chart:

AGG Daily data series chart:

LQD Daily data series chart:

TIP Daily data series chart:

US Bond Funds -- Hourly Data Charts

SHY Hourly data series chart:

IEF Hourly data series chart:

TLT Hourly data series chart:

AGG Hourly data series chart:

LQD Hourly data series chart:

TIP Hourly data series chart:

The Lehman bond series was all off sharply in price as yields increased.

On the week, the 1-3 year bond (SHY) was down "0.17 pct, the 7-10 year bond (IEF) was down "0.52 pct, the 20+ year (TLT) was down "0.61 pct and the Aggregate bond fund (AGG) was down "038 pct).

So for the past month, the Lehman bonds have dropped "0.52 pct (SHY), -0.84 pct (IEF), -0.41 pct (TLT) and "0.68 pct (AGG) respectively. Buy, hold and ???

It's certainly not hold and prosper.

Clearly, traders have to watch their basket closer, and trade it more in order to avoid these problems. Some of the issues were discussed this week in Barron's, as pointed out by a reader, First Consul.

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB113771372994751337.html?mod=9_0039_Fighting

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB111835252531455764.html?mod=article-outset-box

But I do think that simply by trading off the Hourly, Daily and Weekly RSI data, the average person can trade bonds successfully.

Consumer Finance -USA -- Weekly Data Charts

Consumer Finance -USA -- Daily Data Charts

Consumer Finance -USA -- Hourly Data Charts

After a pump job on January 26 and the morning of the 27th, Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) has declined a lot. This week, FNM was down "2.4 pct.

On the other hand, Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) was up Thurs and Fri to close the week up +1.6 pct.

---

Commodities:

This was the week that a severely over-bought commodities market corrected. Unfortunately most of the damage was done while I was in an airport and returning to Toronto on Friday. What a day!

On the surface, the correction does not look complete, so I will focus on this aspect of the market on Monday.

Weekly CRB Commodities Index:

Daily CRB Commodities Index:

The $CRB commodities index dropped -14.30 (-4.13 pct) W/W to close at 331.60. It was oil; it was metals. As the 50-Day Moving Average (50MA) is 334.61, the current price is now below that technical support level. It could possibly bounce back on Monday. We'll wait and see.

The 200MA is close by at 319.28, so I don't think this index will drop much further than that " at least not for a while.

Weekly Crude Oil:

Daily Crude Oil:

$WTIC (NY Crude Oil index based on the near futures) dropped -$2.51 (-3.84 pct) W/W to close at $62.86. The 50MA (62.75) and the 200MA (60.47) are close by, so there is still a reasonable amount of support here.

I suppose the unseasonably warm weather through the North-east U.S. and Canada this winter has served to build up oil inventories, which depressed the price. The price level contains a substantial risk premium related to Middle East, Venezuela and Nigerian oil supply issues or potential issues.

Security is heightened. Travel through airports was no fun. I had to remove my belt and my shoes, pull my computer and camera out, and open all my bags, explain why I have been traveling to twice to Bahamas this year, etc. The line-ups to clear Customs & Immigration were longer this trip.

I'd have to think that lowered security alert levels would help drop the price of crude to maybe 56-57, which is the next level of technical price support, or lower.

Integrated Oil & Gas - Canada

Oil & Gas Exploration & Production -Canada

---

Gold:

Weekly Gold EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Daily Gold EOD Continuous Contract Index:

This interactive chart shows the recent trading for the Gold Bullion index.

$Gold (Gold index based on the near futures contracts) dropped -$17.41 (-3.06 pct) W/W to $551.45. But Friday alone, $Gold was down -$12.85 or "2.28 pct).

The low was $545.35 on the near futures and about 543 on the spot (cash) market, so gold held at about where I anticipated, after rising to almost $580 where I anticipated.

The 50MA is $534.29, but first technical support is at $541, which you can see at www.Stockcharts.com. I think gold will hold here, but I see there is a major play right now supporting the USD. Any breakdown of the nearby support could see gold drop to the next technical support level of about $490.

This is where gold traders must be attending to their screens full-time. It's too much to be sitting in airports.

Weekly Silver EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Daily Silver EOD Continuous Contract Index:

This interactive chart shows the recent trading for the Silver Bullion index.

$Silver (Silver index based on the near futures contracts) dropped -$0.36 (-3.71 pct) W/W to $9.37. But on Friday alone, it was down -$0.26 (-2.75 pct).

The 50MA is $9.00, which is a measure of support.

Weekly Platinum EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Daily Platinum EOD Continuous Contract Index:

This interactive chart shows the recent trading for the Platinum metal index.

$Plat fell -$42.20 (-3.90 pct) W/W to close at $1,040.90. Just like gold and silver, Friday was the killer day, with $Plat dropping $33.80 (-3.15 pct) on the day.

The 50MA is at 1,015.89.

Weekly Palladium EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Daily Palladium EOD Continuous Contract Index:

This interactive chart shows the recent trading for the Palladium metal index.

Talk about "killer" days, how about $Pall, which on Friday alone dropped -$19.85 (-6.48 pct). On the week, $Pall was down -$33.30 (-10.41 pct). Wow!

Blame it on the Metal Men of Zug. They take the elevator down sometimes too.

The 50MA for $Pall is now at $278.02.

Weekly Copper EOD Continuous Contract Index:

Daily Copper EOD Continuous Contract Index:

This interactive chart shows the recent trading for the Copper metal index.

$Copper (Copper index based on near futures) dropped on Friday -$7.89 (-3.45 pct) to close at $221.02, which was down -$8.26 (-3.60 pct) W/W. So Friday was the whole week.

$Copper 50MA is now at $210.45.

---

Weekly U.S. Goldminers Index:

Daily U.S. Goldminers Index:

The U.S. goldminer index ($XAU) closed down 9.09 (-6.15 pct) W/W to 138.66. On Fri, it was down "3.1 pct. The 50MA is at 133.74.

XGD Toronto Exchange-listed goldminer iUnits S&P/TSX Capped Gold Index ETF TSE:XGD closed down "5.98 pct W/W to 66.51.

The 50Ma is 65.54. If the index drops below, I will scale back and protect profits.

Here are the Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts for the TSX Goldshares (XGD) index:

XGD Weekly data:

XGD Daily data:

XGD Hourly data:

For an interactive look, here are links to the Hourly data charts of three groups of proven goldminer stocks. You can click on the tabs for the Monthly, Weekly and Daily data charts.

List #1

List #2

List #3

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Forex:

The USD has a positive move, up +0.75 pct W/W to close Friday at 90.56. Almost half this gain (+0.34 pct) was Friday alone.

Weekly U.S. Dollar Index:

Daily U.S. U.S. Dollar Index:

The Euro (priced in USD) dropped to 119.17, a loss of "0.88 pct W/W. The Friday loss alone was "0.47 pct).

It will be interesting to see if the USD rally can continue on Monday and through the week, or whether this move was a reaction to Greenspan comments (real or perceived) after he departed the Fed this week.

If you know for sure, please send me a note. :-)

Weekly Euro Dollar Index, priced in USD:

Daily Euro Dollar Index, priced in USD:

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International Equities:

This was another tough week for Japanese equities as USD was pulled out and sent home, starting at the beginning of the month.

The other major markets I follow (U.K. and Canada) didn't do much. But the U.K. does appear to be slipping a bit.

Japanese equity market ETF: EWJ

The EWJ (Japanese equity market ETF that trades in USD in the U.S.) was down "2.23 pct W/W to 13.58. It peaked along with oil at the end of January.

The Nikkei 225 index is at 16,257.83, with support at about 15,000, which would be a further drop of "7.7 pct from here. That seems reasonable.

Whether the Nikkei Dow drops lower to join a full-blown Bear Market is unlikely because China is a favorable trading partner and china's Currency (Renminbi) is growing stronger.

Here is the Japanese (EWJ) equity market ETF Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

EWJ Weekly data:

EWJ Daily data:

EWJ Hourly data:

U.K. equity market ETF: EWU

The EWU (U.K. equity market ETF that trades in the U.S. in USD) was flat this week, closing at 19.51. I noted that Colin Twiggs, a solid professional who runs an excellent charting service from Australia, says he thinks the U.K. market is under distribution, and I agree with that premise.

Here is the United Kingdom (EWU) equity market ETF Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

EWU Weekly data:

EWU Daily data:

EWU Hourly data:

Canadian equity market ETF: EWC

Regarding Canada, I am delighted to see James Flaherty as the new Conservative government Minister of Finance. He is a sharp guy " very fiscally conservative " who will do a great job.

The EWC (Canadian equity market ETF that trades in USD in the U.S.) was marginally down "0.38 pct W/W to 13.58. With oil and metals off so far, I'm surprised the Canadian equity market didn't take a bigger hit this week.

But it did peak along with oil at the start of the month, so watch the two indexes closely.

Somebody asked if buying the big Cdn banks would be an effective proxy for the Canadian equity market, and I answered that it would not. The banks out-performed in the period 1982 to 2000, during disinflation. But now that we are in an inflation cycle " as mild as it has been so far - there would be no comparative advantage of over-weighting Cdn banks until the next disinflation cycle. And that could be many years away.

In the meantime, the Cdn banks ought to do well (just not great) because they are mostly international banks with sound management.

Here is the Canadian (EWC) equity market ETF Weekly, Daily and Hourly data charts:

EWC Weekly data:

EWC Daily data:

EWC Hourly data:

(Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore)

(U.K., Germany, France, Italy)

(Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia).

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U.S. Equities:

This week was really a nothing week. The broad U.S. indexes, except for the Russell 2000 small caps, were marginally up " about +0.3 pct each. The Russell 2000 was marginally down "0.14 pct.

What I did note that if it wasn't for Friday's rally, the U.S. equity market would have closed down on the week. So call Friday afternoon a save.

---

Here is the Monthly data chart of the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, Dow30, and Russell 2000 (small cap) indexes.

Here is the Weekly data chart of the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, Dow30, and Russell 2000 (small cap) indexes.

Here is the Daily data chart of the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, Dow30, and Russell 2000 (small cap) indexes.

Here is the Hourly data chart of the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, Dow30, and Russell 2000 (small cap) indexes.

The following table shows the weekly price performance of the Dow 30 stocks, which I sorted by 1-week price change.

Symbol	Close	Net	%Net	1W %Net	2W %Net	4W %Net	YTD %Net	3M %Net	6M %Net	Yr %Net
DIS	26.68	-0.04	-0.15%	6.68%	6.38%	4.06%	9.34%	3.77%	4.75%	-9.10%
VZ	33.18	0.52	1.59%	4.97%	3.24%	3.33%	9.22%	6.55%	0.09%	-7.94%
DD	40.69	0.49	1.22%	4.60%	2.16%	1.12%	-5.50%	-3.72%	-4.28%	-19.63%
AIG	67.90	0.78	1.16%	3.90%	1.88%	-3.36%	-2.47%	1.06%	9.09%	-6.46%
HPQ	31.51	-0.09	-0.28%	3.11%	0.70%	1.58%	9.52%	11.46%	30.53%	46.69%
INTC	21.29	0.29	1.38%	2.65%	-1.75%	-18.02%	-16.74%	-15.65%	-20.80%	-9.40%
T	27.48	0.35	1.29%	2.58%	6.14%	10.10%	11.21%	38.51%	37.19%	41.80%
BA	72.53	0.52	0.72%	2.34%	5.79%	4.08%	3.11%	9.73%	9.96%	34.66%
MMM	72.61	0.49	0.68%	2.12%	-0.06%	-6.55%	-8.22%	-5.92%	0.85%	-13.46%
C	45.96	0.17	0.37%	2.00%	-1.94%	-6.26%	-6.76%	-3.71%	6.14%	-6.17%
JNJ	58.39	-0.16	-0.27%	1.76%	-0.55%	-6.14%	-5.26%	-4.92%	-8.55%	-11.70%
IBM	81.33	0.93	1.16%	1.70%	0.38%	-2.68%	-0.89%	-3.17%	-0.84%	-12.32%
PFE	25.68	-0.66	-2.51%	1.58%	-1.19%	4.48%	7.99%	15.62%	-2.69%	2.51%
GE	33.28	0.36	1.09%	1.31%	1.00%	-4.91%	-5.91%	-3.54%	-1.77%	-7.68%
AXP	53.00	-0.04	-0.08%	1.28%	-0.56%	-1.03%	0.80%	6.30%	-6.19%	-3.83%
HON	39.63	0.11	0.28%	1.02%	4.81%	6.88%	5.79%	10.27%	3.18%	3.04%
MCD	36.33	0.03	0.08%	1.00%	3.65%	4.43%	8.38%	9.33%	11.10%	13.18%
JPM	39.92	0.15	0.38%	0.99%	0.43%	-0.08%	-0.67%	4.18%	14.71%	6.60%
AA	30.86	-0.21	-0.68%	0.92%	-1.41%	7.12%	3.21%	17.43%	6.89%	4.72%
CAT	68.75	0.30	0.44%	0.91%	1.81%	10.51%	18.94%	25.71%	25.00%	49.36%
KO	41.16	0.16	0.39%	0.68%	-1.93%	-0.68%	0.64%	-3.20%	-6.24%	-3.15%
WMT	45.75	0.05	0.11%	0.57%	-0.20%	0.02%	-1.04%	-6.71%	-6.33%	-12.46%
MO	71.87	0.05	0.07%	0.24%	-3.83%	-5.87%	-4.15%	-3.54%	7.38%	8.24%
PG	59.70	0.08	0.13%	0.03%	-0.07%	2.21%	1.57%	5.91%	11.15%	15.65%
UTX	57.13	0.42	0.74%	-0.09%	-2.76%	3.01%	1.06%	8.04%	14.31%	11.30%
MRK	34.31	-0.03	-0.09%	-0.23%	-1.12%	2.48%	4.76%	14.25%	10.07%	19.30%
HD	39.22	0.17	0.44%	-1.51%	-1.95%	-7.83%	-4.90%	-6.04%	-5.86%	-7.43%
MSFT	26.69	0.03	0.11%	-3.09%	-3.96%	-1.66%	-0.56%	-1.48%	-0.96%	2.42%
XOM	59.43	-0.49	-0.82%	-3.19%	-3.03%	-0.35%	1.64%	5.28%	-0.78%	5.48%
GM	21.87	-0.27	-1.22%	-5.53%	-8.11%	4.34%	15.71%	-6.98%	-37.53%	-40.38%

You can do this table yourself by entering the following string into your browser and then clicking on the link for Performance.

AA AIG AXP BA C CAT DD DIS GE GM HD HON HPQ IBM INTC JNJ JPM KO MCD MMM MO MRK MSFT PFE PG SBC UTX VZ WMT XOM

After you bring up the list, click on the Performance tab. To sort for the relative price performance for any recent period, you just need to click on the column header of the period that interests you.

Here is what happened this week: 24 Dow components up, and just 6 down. But check to see how Friday afternoon helped swing the numbers wildly.

The Dow 30 winners this week:
DIS, up +6.68 pct
VZ, up +4.97 pct
DD, up +4.60 pct
AIG, up +3.90 pct
HPQ, up +3.11 pct
INTC, up +2.65 pct

Disney was up about +8.0 pct at the open on Wed. The rest of the week, DIS was under distribution.

The Dow 30 losers this week:
GM, down "5.53 pct
XOM, down, -3.19 pct
MSFT, down "3.09 pct
HD, down "1.51 pct
MRK, down "0.23 pct,
UTX, down "0.09 pct

GM has suffered Wall Street analyst downgrades this week, which took the stock price down.

Here are the links to interactive Dow charts from Investertech.com that I broke into groups of ten, which you can add technical indicators for as well. (list one) (list two) (list three)

This week's new Value Line report for a Dow 30 component is WMT. I couldn't bring up the Value Line reports this week for some reason.

Too busy to check into it. Please somebody tell me if there is a problem here.

(AA) (AA) (Here is the Jan. 20 Value Line report on AA: next one is due Apr. 21)

(AIG) (AIG) (Here is the Nov. 25 Value Line report on AIG: next one is due Feb. 25)

(AXP) (AXP) (Here is the Nov. 25 Value Line report on AXP: next one is due Feb. 25)

(BA) (BA) (Here is the Dec. 23 Value Line report on BA: next one is due Mar. 24)

(C) (C) (Here is the Nov. 26 Value Line report on C: next one is due Feb. 25)

(CAT) (CAT) (Here is the Jan. 27 Value Line report on CAT: next one is due Apr. 28)

(DD) (DD) ( Here is the Jan. 20 Value Line report on DD: next one is due Apr. 21)

(DIS) (DIS) (Here is the Nov. 18 Value Line report on DIS: next one is due Feb. 18)

(GE) (GE) ( Here is the Jan. 13 Value Line report on GE: next one is due Apr. 14)

(GM) (GM) Here is the Dec. 2 Value Line report on GM: next one is due Mar. 3)

(HD) (HD) (Here is the Jan. 6 Value Line report on HD: next one is due Apr. 8)

(HON) (HON) (Here is the Jan. 27 Value Line report on HON: next one is due Apr. 28)

(HPQ) (HPQ) (Here is the Jan. 13 Value Line report on HPQ: next one is due Apr. 14)

(IBM) (IBM) ( Here is the Jan. 13 Value Line report on IBM: next one is due Apr. 14)

(INTC) (INTC) ( Here is the Jan. 13 Value Line report on INTC: next one is due Apr. 14)

(JNJ) (JNJ) Here is the Dec. 2 Value Line report on JNJ: next one is due Mar. 3)

(JPM) (JPM) Here is the Nov. 25 Value Line report on JPM: next one is due Feb. 25)

(KO) (KO) (Here is the Feb. 3 Value Line report on KO: next one is due May 5)

(MCD) (MCD) (Here is the Dec. 9 Value Line report on MCD: next one is due Mar. 10)

(MMM) (MMM) (Here is the Nov 18 Value Line report on MMM: next one is due Feb 18)

(MO) (MO) (Here is the Feb. 3 Value Line report on MO: next one is due May 5)

(MRK) (MRK) ( Here is the Jan. 20 Value Line report on MRK: next one is due Apr. 21)

(MSFT) (MSFT) (Here is the Nov. 25 Value Line report on MSFT: next one is due Feb. 25)

(PFE) (PFE) (Here is the Jan. 20 Value Line report on PFE: next one is due Apr. 21)

(PG) (PG) (Here is the Jan. 6 Value Line report on PG: next one is due Apr. 8)

(SBC/T) (SBC/T) (Here is the Dec. 30 Value Line report on T: next one is due Mar. 31)

(UTX) (UTX) (Here is the Jan. 27 Value Line report on UTX: next one is due Apr. 28)

(VZ) (VZ) (Here is the Dec. 30 Value Line report on VZ: next one is due Mar. 31)

(WMT) (WMT) (Here is the Feb. 10 Value Line report on WMT: next one is due May 12)

(XOM) (XOM) (Here is the Dec. 16 Value Line report on XOM: next one is due Mar. 17)

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Wrap up

This was a week where a lot was accomplished for me personally. Life is a journey, and like Christopher Columbus, mine will take me to the New World in The Bahamas. To Grand Bahama Island actually.

As soon as it is deemed appropriate by the parties, I'll make the announcement via this blog. I anticipate that to happen in two weeks.

One final comment: Regarding the future, I will be blogging as usual " perhaps even more " but until business plans are made final, I decided to freeze all systems changes in development for this website.

On a pleasant note, one of you sent along some beautiful photos of China:

Finally, I noted a newspaper story that shows a Job Fair being held in North America seeking skilled ex-patriots to return to China. Many agree that the opportunities are greater there, but they have become "Westernized" in recent years, which is to say "lazy?"

Sorry, I had to take that shot, even after I said I was going to conclude on a pleasant note.

Anyway, for someone who is supposedly retired, I put in my usual 100-hour weeks. And now I'm headed to a small Island in the sun " 300+ days of sunshine a year " surrounded by pristine ocean, clean air, minimal noise, and a population of about 50,000 over 530 square miles. Maybe I'll cut back to 90-hour weeks!

How about that; Grand Bahama Island (including Freeport/Lucaya) has less than 100 persons per square mile. Compare that to the nearby Florida coast (60 miles away) where the density is 10 to 20 times greater in the local counties, and at least four times greater across the whole State.

GBI is living large.

BCara@BillCara.com