Monday, January 25, 2016

Market Commentary for the week of January 25, 2016

....not a drop to drink.
Momentum is always a profitable investment strategy.  As the market gets heaved upon by various fundamental and technical issues, more investors are wondering from where  or if  there exists any evidence of sustainable upside profit potential?  I believe a case must be made for long-term social demographics as the first place to begin identifying an improvement in the odds for market outperformance.

Day after day, the Dow Jones has been swinging sharply by hundreds of points.  Last week, for example, it wasn't unusual to see intraday volatility of nearly two to three percentage points, all this on the heels of news from China, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere that default and economic slowdown could wreak havoc upon global rebuilding.

Besides focusing upon micro, inter-day factoids as justification for buying-in or selling-off, let me remind my readers to consider what investing really means...or was intended to mean.

Our planet faces many issues which actually conjoin our disparate interests and cultures rather than to create separation between us.  Amongst those challenges about which I have previously written, the most pressing is the scarcity of water.  My database, ArlingtonEconometrics, has carefully screened through a coterie of names connected to this topic and identified a nexus of stocks that I believe has a statistical probability of accomplishing two things: (1) magnifying capital gains opportunity, and (2) providing solutions to a difficult social challenge.

Retreat, or step in?
The problem really emanates not so much from a scarcity of the commodity (after all, the planet's surface is 75% covered in water mass), but in how our existing supply lines match up to critical and specific needs for access.  We are seeing an historical shift in regions that have had, but no longer, a surplus of supply for their citizens.

As the crisis expands, we've noticed a concerted effort by some businesses to develop the technology to address it.  However, at the end of the day, the solution has been unmasked as not just a technical or regional manifestation, but a political one, as well.  Legal claims for jurisdiction over "ownership" of the commodity is the laughable stuff of ignorance, greed, and authority.  Water might be "the new oil", but it, too, has not proven to be immune from the territorial or financial enticements that have plagued the oil industry for decades.

Agriculture, another of our designated social demographics, is also dependent upon fresh water.  Without arable farmland and potable drinking water, we potentially face decades of famine, warfare, indigent migration, prolific disease, and, possibly, death.  How much more of this can populations tolerate before confronting the problem?  While conservation is just one of the focuses of water scarcity, science must also seek to find new sources.

Obviously, there is no "one size fits all" answer to this complex social dilemma.  My research quest, delineated by companies with earnings acceleration, current or potential price performance, and relative strength quotients, concentrates its focus upon comprehensive solutions to filtration/desalinization; commercial use; hydroelectricity; construction and treatment; testing; and irrigation.  By aggregating these services and modalities you come to appreciate the enormity of the potential gain, both remuneratively and socially.

The conundrum, as noted, is that there is both too little water as well as too much.  But for those unfortunates who tonight may be going to bed hungry, thirsty, impoverished, or ill, the complexity, timing, and magnitude of Wall Street's potential response rings hollow.  Too little, too late? Perhaps not, if we get moving now.

For all the reasons that water is, or will be a "popular" investment theme, the most significant motivating force is the opportunity to do well by our fellow citizens who also inhabit this "big blue marble" alongside us.

As I re-read this text, I can almost hear the uninitiated saying, "great, but what about the carnage in my 401-k today?  This pie-in-the sky stuff doesn't help me with that!!"   My answer?  Investing involves risk and volatility.  Get used to it.  But if you wish to suppress the uncertainty and constant harangue that 24-hour business news channels inflict upon you, try building perspective into the endeavor.  Your money can actually help solve problems and  grow your portfolio, concurrently.

In this unique instance, my database has provided insight into money flow, capital gains probabilities, and a rare glimpse into a better future.

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