Trend picture

Investors should remain wary of the bearish sentiment that continues to weigh on stocks. The breadth of bearish sentiment can be viewed in the Stock Trends distribution graphs. The NYSE trend picture, shown here, is not particularly inviting. The surge in Weak Bearish stocks in early February - a positive move - lost conviction. The market is in a holding pattern. For trend investors the sideline is safe.

The epic undoing of Nortel

For even zen-like investors rarely ruffled by reminiscences of painful matters past, this week’s salt on the open gash we all know as Nortel Networks (TSX:NT) is a morbid spectacle. Dropping another 24%, NT has dipped into virtual penny-stockdom - if we measure by its pre-consolidation stature. Recall the 1:10 consolidation of late-2006 and Friday’s close of $8.48 tells shamefully of this once mighty stock. Not to be deceived by meaningless shuffles of the capital stock, the telling score of NT’s colossal fall from power is simply put: NT’s market cap in 2000 made up a whopping 30% of the TSX’s total domestic capitalization. If it were to have the same stature today it would be a $550-billion enterprise - a whole Exxon Mobil Corp away from the $3.7-billion market cap it currently sports. How the mighty fall.