By Bob Stokes
2/6/2012 2:30:00 PM
A bullish consensus appears to be crystallizing. But that doesn't mean one should take a contrarian view for its own sake. One must look at the entire market picture, and ask, "Where are we in the market's main trend?" and "What are other indicators revealing?" We've asked and answered those questions...
Filed Under: bull market, Elliott Wave Theorist, financial forecast, herding, investor psychology, sentiment, Short Term Update
Category: Stocks
By Nico Isaac
2/3/2012 5:00:00 PM
On February 1, Facebook revealed plans to raise $5 billion in the biggest internet initial public offering ever. Soon after, the vast majority of Facebook's 845 million users clicked "like" on the soon-to-be IPO's wall post. So, the big question remains: Does this salvo of social networking and micro-blogging sites really have a new "face"? One, for that matter, that won't turn into a sad, frowning emoticon from another tech boom gone bust?
Filed Under: Bob Prechter, Elliott Wave Theorist, hedge funds, herding, mutual funds, prechter, S&P 500
Category: Stocks
By Bob Stokes
1/30/2012 5:15:00 PM
Our Elliott wave analysis strongly suggests that the markets and economy are at rare historical junctures. Read what Robert Prechter recently said...
Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, deflation, Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), Elliott wave, herding, history, market forecasts, Random Walk Theory, Robert Prechter, social mood
Category: Stocks
By Jill Noble
11/3/2011 5:00:00 PM
In DVD footage from the 2011 Socionomics Summit, Robert Prechter gives the following example of how “herding” among mutual fund shareholders can cause deep harm, even when the fund itself is successful.
Filed Under: hedge funds, herding, Robert Prechter, socionomics, socionomics summit, video
Category: Socionomics
By Bob Stokes
10/18/2011 4:15:00 PM
Some expert appears on TV with a fancy title under his name. He must know about the market. But the 2007-2009 financial crisis revealed once again just how often the Wall Street crowd is wrong. How about now?...
Filed Under: herding, investor psychology, Prechter's Perspective, Robert Prechter, U.S. STOCK MARKET
Category: Stocks
By Jill Noble
10/6/2011 5:15:00 PM
In this clip from his presentation at the London School of Economics, Bob Prechter discusses neurobiology and the biological impulses that make "rational self-interest" so difficult.
Filed Under: herding, history, personal finance, Robert Prechter, Robert Prechter, volatility
Category: Classic Prechter
Critical Thinking—Is It the Answer to Investor Woes?
EWI's free Independent Investor eBook shows you how conventional methods of understanding the markets can hugely impede your investment success
By Andrea Dibben
9/22/2011 12:15:00 PM
“Critical thinking” -- a.k.a. thinking for yourself -- is the pinnacle of a good education.
But even though you realize it's important to think for yourself, as time goes by you find yourself going with the majority. Not rocking the boat is a safer bet. You come to believe you just might live longer.
Filed Under: herding, investment decisions, personal finance
Category: Classic Prechter
Where Should You Be in a Fast-Moving Market?
Hint: Avoid the herd. Be independent. Move at your own pace with our expert market mentors.
By Jill Noble
8/23/2011 11:15:00 AM
As markets swing wildly, there's never been a more important time to hone your trading skills. And the Wave Principle (and supporting technical tools) can indeed help you avoid pitfalls and identify unique opportunities.
Filed Under: Elliott Wave Principle, Elliott Wave trading, herding, Jeffrey Kennedy, risk management, technical analysis, Traders, volatility, Elliott Wave Principle
Category: U.S. Economy
By Nathaniel Williams
8/12/2011 3:45:00 PM
If many financial "experts" were graded they'd likely get an "F." How can they be so wrong at such critical junctures -- and is it possible to think independently?
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, conquer the crash, Elliott Wave Principle, herding, Robert Prechter, Robert Prechter
Category: Classic Prechter
Why the Herd Cannot Buy Low or Sell High
The June Socionomist reveals why the "wisdom" of crowds does not apply to investing
By Nico Isaac
7/27/2011 5:30:00 PM
In 1907, an Englishman at a county fair observed that a group of independent opinions offers a better estimate than can any single individual in the group. Fast forward one century, and this idea grew into the theme of a popular book with a really long title: "The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations."
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, Daily Sentiment Index (DSI), herding, Robert Prechter, socionomics, wisdom of crowds
Category: Socionomics
Are Crowds Wise -- Or Mad?
New Research Reveals the Sources and Threat of Herding
By Nathaniel Williams
7/5/2011 5:15:00 PM
For more than 100 years, social science has claimed that a group of people is smarter than its individuals. The idea is known as the "wisdom of crowd effect." Yet observation shows that crowds often make very un-wise decisions. Now, new research shows you why...
Filed Under: cultural trends, herding, social mood, The Socionomist
Category: Socionomics
By Susan C. Walker
6/22/2011 4:00:00 PM
"Most people tend to engage in what we call herding. They follow the actions of others, whether those others are on the right side of the market or not. The result is that prices move up and down according to investors' optimism and pessimism. Investors use the news to rationalize their emotional decisions, and most people lose money." How can you avoid that?
Filed Under: Club EWI, Elliott Wave Principle, herding, Traders, Elliott Wave Principle
Category: Classic Prechter
By Editorial Staff
5/13/2011 11:45:00 AM
According to socionomics, investors are herding all the time, not just in bubbles and crashes. The agents involved are a homogeneous group. Under the socionomic model, there are no investors vs. traders, technicians vs. fundamentalists, or smart money vs. dumb money. Differences among participants are quantitative, not qualitative, as some people herd sooner or more intensely than others. Although some investors may be smarter than others, in the end everyone herds to some degree.
Filed Under: Bear market, bull market, herding, investor psychology, mania, Robert Prechter, socionomics
Category: Classic Prechter
By Jill Noble
4/29/2011 4:00:00 PM
When it comes to financial markets, our analysts don't hesitate when the time arrives to challenge the prevailing economic wisdom, and part with the herd.
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, Elliott Wave Principle, Elliott Wave Theorist, herding, Robert Prechter, socionomics, technical analysis
Category: Stocks
By Bob Stokes
4/21/2011 5:30:00 PM
Aren't investors consciously taking on more risk by "deciding that the gamble of buying high--to sell even higher--is worth it?" Prechter's answer to this question will likely surprise you. You'll never hear the phrase "risk-appetite" in the same way again...
Filed Under: Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), herding, investor psychology, Robert Prechter, sentiment, socionomics
Category: Stocks
By Vadim Pokhlebkin
4/19/2011 4:45:00 PM
In the fall of 2009, I was in my mortgage broker's office to iron out the details of my new home refinancing deal. He knew I worked for EWI, so when we were done he asked the inevitable question: "So, what do you think about the stock market?" At the time the DJIA was around 10,000...
Filed Under: diversification, herding, Robert Prechter, Robert Prechter, social mood, stock indexes, Wall Street
Category: Stocks
Socionomics Really Can Give You Answers No One Else Can
Who is most likely to win elections? When are wars most likely to be started? Which TV shows and movies are most likely to do well? The scope of socionomic applications is immense
By Vadim Pokhlebkin
4/11/2011 12:30:00 PM
I left the former Soviet Union to come to America in 1992. It may surprise you to learn that growing up in the "Evil Empire" in the 1970s and '80s wasn't that different from coming of age somewhere in America's Midwest. Yet most of the rest of the world considered the old Soviet Union to be a vastly different place. So when the USSR finally dissolved in 1991, many people around the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. But here's a question that bothered me for a long time...
Filed Under: Robert Prechter, Drug War, Elliott wave, fundamental analysis, herding, Robert Prechter, Random Walk Theory, Robert Prechter, social mood, socionomics
Category: Socionomics
By Bob Stokes
3/16/2011 3:45:00 PM
All investors -- including experienced professionals -- must simultaneously grapple with two enemies: 1) Imperfect knowledge, and 2) Their own emotions. So what do the vast majority do?...
Filed Under: 1929 Stock Market Crash, Bear market, Robert Prechter, Elliott Wave Principle, herding, investor psychology, S&P 500
Category: Stocks
By Bob Stokes
3/8/2011 5:15:00 PM
Increasing economic confidence drives the large number of initial public offerings that cluster around market tops -- from Internet start-ups to big corporations to social networking companies. The same optimism is evident at each top: only the names of the companies change...
Filed Under: bull market, herding, investor psychology, mania, sentiment, social mood
Category: U.S. Economy
By Bob Stokes
3/4/2011 6:15:00 PM
While stock mutual fund investors have largely been on the sidelines during much of the rally since the bottom two years ago, their actions have recently changed...
Filed Under: Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Elliott Wave Theorist, herding, mutual funds, Robert Prechter, sentiment
Category: Stocks