”Money cannot consistently be made trading every day or every week during the year” — Jesse Livermore

HAPPY NEW YEAR & WISHING YOU A PROSPEROUS 2014

1. Japan (DXJ) unveils ¥95.88T budget — Japan’s government has adopted a record ¥95.88T ($921B) budget for the fiscal year starting in April. 2014 budget will include increased spending on social security, defense and public works. However, the government is also trying to limit further growth of its massive debt, and it will reduce the issuance of new revenue bonds to ¥41.25T from ¥42.9T this year.
2. Obamacare deadline postponed by one day — the White House has extended by 24 hours for the deadline for signing up Obamacare. So far, over 1M people had logged onto the problem HealthCare.gov Web site which caused system sluggishness and long waiting times.
3. China Estimates 2013 Growth at 7.6% as Challenges Seen Ahead — Bloomberg, China reportedly estimates that growth slowed for the third successive year in 2013, dropping to 7.6% from 7.7% in 2012 but coming in above the government’s goal of 7.5%. Economists expect that China will expand 7.6% this year and 7.4% in 2014. The GDP release came as China’s central bank sought to ease a liquidity crunch in the market for loans between banks, as financial markets were roiled by the second spike in borrowing costs this year.
4. Santa Claus Rally Begins — courtesy of BIG, analysis below showing the typical seasonal pattern for the DJIA. If history is any guide, the rally is just starting and should continue until the first week of 2014. In the past, the Dow has advanced roughly 2% from now until the first week of January.


5. Unemployment Benefits end for long-term jobless — WashingtonPost, an estimated 1.3M people are set to lose extended unemployment benefits when funding for those benefits runs out. Since 2008, the federal government has provided money to those who are without a job for longer than 26 weeks and for up to 99 weeks. Concerned about people falling into poverty, Democrats plan to try to reinstate the provisions in the New Year; however, Republicans are opposed, arguing that the extended payments encourage unemployment.
6. Individual Bullish Sentiment Back Above 50% — courtesy of BIG, According to the American Association of Individual Investors(AAII), bullish sentiment increased 7.6% this week from 47.46% up to 55.06%. The last time bullish sentiment was above the 50% mark was back in late January. The last time bullish sentiment was as high as it is now was nearly three years ago on January 6th, 2011.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: