Market Outlook Since Q3 the market has been downhill. There is too much uncertainty -- with arrests, indictments, and espionage leading the way. The recent Fed announcement hinted at raising rates next year, causing a 1000 point turnaround. He is not prepared to say the absolute worst is over, but for a long term investor there is great value. It is too late to exit holdings now. Lots of good value in the energy sector with tax loss selling. Hedge fund year end redemptions are also pulling the market down. He feels this could all lead to fresh buying early in the new year.

How does a small investor afford GOOG-N? Trading board lots does not make a difference anymore. It all depends on your dollar amount to invest. If GOOG split 100:1, it would not make any difference in his opinion -- it should not dissuade you from investing. Yes, a lower share price might attract more investors. Stay away from stock consolidations -- this is a troubling sign.

CAD currency and stock values. If commodity values weaken then our stock index will weaken. This would put pressure on the Canadian dollar. Most of the majors are inter-listed on US exchanges and benefit from re-trading. You would be unwise to buy US stocks right now, due to the weakness in our currency.

Dollar Cost Averaging He has been guilty of this -- sometimes it works out. If the outlook has not changed and you believe in the business model it can be a good strategy. It is tricky to find a true bottom in price. If something gets under-weighted in your portfolio it also makes sense.

Technical analysis on equity markets. You can follow his blog at valuetrend.ca. 2540 on the S&P 500 was a reasonably significant support level. Don't want to see it broken because it represents the lows of the year. It broke yesterday, and fell more today. So we've broken significant support. He uses the rule of 3 -- he doesn't make a move until 3 days, which has prevented him from buying back in. If Monday is down, after that if we don't start basing, then the market's in trouble. If it doesn't stop falling later next week, he's going to have to start selling out. We are oversold, and we could get a rebound to the old support level. But if we don't crack above 2540, we could be in a new bear market. The 200-day moving average broke some time ago, and we're getting lower lows. He has about 13% cash now, and will start raising more in the next few weeks.

How do you decide whether to keep holding a stock? You can trade in this environment. You have to switch gears. Let's assume it's a bear market, you have to look at ways to peel the stocks you're less long-term bullish on, and you can trade the swings. Or you grin and bear it and hold out. You can use momentum indicators to spot overbought and oversold opportunities.

Technical analysis on the TSX composite. He was looking for a bounce to trade. But it fell, so he's glad they didn't buy. Might likely see a bounce in the next 2 weeks, but you'll only know it's the real McCoy if it goes back above the old support level. So, look for the bounce, but then look for some follow through.