Forex How the Election and Economy Will Impact Your Portfolio

Forex There's plenty of data to help handicap the market during Presidential election years and it happens to be siding on the investor's team when it comes to an incumbent up for re-election. Jeffrey Hirsch, the editor-in-chief of the Stock Trader's Almanac crunched those numbers and says since the beginning of the Dow in 1896, an incumbent president has run for re-election 19 times; 14 of those were up years for the DJIA. 'Just the fact that there's somebody in office running again is a good sign for the year — 9% on average — what happens is early on if it's a real popular president doing well the market stays up,' Hirsch says. 'If you've got someone really unpopular come election time and they get ousted, there's a rally in November/December, sort of a 'ding dong the witch is dead' type of rally.' As for those five times when the trend didn't hold, only two were particularly bad years: 1932 which saw the removal of Herbert Hoover and 1940 when World War II was already raging in Europe. It's not just the election that offers insight into the next eleven and a half months. Hirsch notes that the end of the 'deflation fear period' should be a good sign in the short-term, but further down the road it 'puts a cap on things.' He cites a housing market that picked up and then flat-lined, consumer confidence that has come up (but not enough), and improving unemployment numbers as a sign that the economy is on the mend. He says it is 'good enough to keep us from having a really bad year' but not good enough to see a breakout to new highs. Specifically Hirsch is looking at 5-10% growth year-over-year, with a Dow target somewhere between 13,000 and 13,500. Still, he cautions the economy, the election, Europe and any number of other international factors could lead to amended forecasts in either direction. Then there's the market volatility — the same that plagued investors throughout 2011. Hirsch says it's here to stay again in 2012. 'Come spring you start looking for a technical trigger,' says Hirsch. 'Get a little bit more on the sidelines, take some profits, cover yourself...and then get back in for the year-end rally...Trade the seasons, trade the range and you should do okay.' How are you playing the election year, the economy and the volatility? Tell us on our Facebook page or in the comments below. Related Quotes: ^DJI 12,428.26 -21.19 -0.17% ^IXIC 2,715.99 +5.23 +0.19% ^GSPC 1,291.70 -0.78 -0.06%

Forex 5 Unusual Sales Taxes You Need To Avoid

Forex 5 Unusual Sales Taxes You Need To Avoid With the economy still struggling, states are getting fairly crafty with how they charge consumers via sales taxes. It's no secret that dubious, yet all-too enforceable government laws have been with us since the dawn of the civilized world. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs taxed cooking oil – of course, the main seller of cooking oil was the pharaoh. During the first century AD, the Roman empire taxed urine – a popular source of ammonia for common tasks like tanning hides and cleaning clothes. Then at the height of the Dark Ages (an era in European history notorious for its poor hygiene), some European governments taxed the sale of soap! Unfortunately, onerous and unusual state taxes are still very much with us. What are some of the biggest offenders – and are they active in your state? Here's our top five: Food Packaging Tax States like Colorado have a weird definition of what constitutes food packaging. In using the term 'essential' in its tax language for such commodities, Colorado finds itself in the strange position of taxing paper cup lids and napkins, but not paper cups or fast-food French fry containers. Hot Air Balloon Tax If you're in Kansas and in the mood to take a ride in a hot air balloon, beware of the state government's 'amusement' tax. State regulation makes balloon rides taxable. But there is a caveat – only balloon rides that are tied, or tethered to the ground, are considered taxable. So, if you want to avoid paying taxes when taking a balloon ride over Topeka, make sure to leave the rope at home! Careful on That Bagel New York State has an interesting way of handling bagels – and taxes on buying bagels. If you want to eat a bagel tax-free, don't have the deli counter 'prepare' it for you (i.e., add cream cheese or cut the bagel in two pieces). Prepare that bagel yourself, and you don't have to pay a tax on it. Wet Fuse In West Virginia, celebrating the Fourth of July – or any celebration where fireworks are used, can lighten your wallet. The state has a special tax – on top of its 6% sales tax – on things like ladyfingers and sparklers. Fruit Cakes California has gone bananas over the purchase of fruit by consumers. If you buy an apple from a regular retailer, you're in good shape, as the purchase is tax-exempt. If you buy fruit from a vending machine – and who hasn't done that – you'll pay an additional 33% on the amount of the purchase. Maybe the most egregious case of over-taxation on a state level comes from Pennsylvania, where the commonwealth actually taxes the use of air (on carwash vacuum cleaners). The Bottom Line The above taxes certainly aren't the only taxes on statewide level, but they are surely among the most unique. This site has a more complete list of sales taxes in all 50 states: http://retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html .

Signals Swing trading opportunities

Signals

Several stocks are breaking out and there are some nice setups showing up in our scans. Many stocks are going sideways during market consolidation and are now breaking out. 

Oil Multi year range breakout

Oil

The market had a breakout last week. The breakout was preceded by 13 days of base. The breakout also coincides with market taking out multi year high.

Below the surface quality breakouts on momentum stocks are increasing. The breadth trends are positive for last couple of weeks.

Signals Holding the gains

Signals

The market is holding on to its gains after few days of rally. In the past 3 month every such rally attempt has faded after 4 to 5 days. As of now if the market can hold its gains for few weeks then it will have better chance of taking out the high.

The large cap continue to attract interest. Small caps have been under performing. Small caps tend to make big moves in most bull market. They are the engine of growth. Small companies can dramatically grow on Q/Q basis and as a result can quickly double or triple.

Oil ISIS swing trade setup.

Oil

ISIS is breaking out . Good swing trading setup for 8 to 20% profit potential.

Oil September 5th Penny Stock Winners, Losers, and Bottom Scan

Oil

Today's Winners and Losers

Today's Bottom Scan