ETF Report and Sentiment Survey for Donors

I've killed the Google AdSense ads because they're slowing down the loading of my pages -- I'm not sure if this is because I'm in China or what, but I decided to stop placing the ad code in the page. Also, the new chat applet that allows me to archive the transcripts cost a couple hundred bucks, so I've decided to dig out the donor button. Take care using PayPal because there are a lot of spoof sites that exploit them.

If you enjoy participating in the chat or reading the archived transcripts, then consider making a donation to support the site. In thanks I'll send you my weekly ETF Report (here's the last one I sent out) as well as a weekly chart of my MaoXian.com Sentiment Index. I created my own Sentiment Index, which is based on a sophisticated scan of hundreds of media sources to gauge investor sentiment, and it has backtested pretty well so I'm pleased with it.

Here's a chart of the Oil Service HOLDR with my Sentiment Index in the top panel. If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to drop me a line, and thanks for your generosity.

OIH with MaoXian.com Sentiment Index, Weekly Chart

Recapping Recent Chats

I fixed the formatting on the old chat transcripts so they don't look like a mess in Firefox anymore.

Charts featured in the June 26, 2005 chat:

• Crude Oil (Continuous Contract) - weekly chart
• Natural Gas (Continuous Contract) - weekly chart
• EOG Resources (EOG) - monthly chart
• Southwestern Energy (SWN) - monthly chart
• XTO Energy (XTO) - monthly chart

Charts featured in the June 19, 2005 chat:

• Panera Bread (PNRA) - monthly chart
• Darden Restaurants (DRI) - monthly chart
• Domino's Pizza (DPZ) - weekly chart
• California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI) - weekly chart
• Yum! Brands (YUM) - monthly chart
• Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI) - 15-minute chart
• Light Sweet Crude (CL) - 30-minute chart
• Dynamic Materials (BOOM) - 5-minute chart

Charts featured in the June 5, 2005 chat:

• Boeing (BA) - monthly chart
• Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) - weekly chart
• Google (GOOG) - daily chart
• KB Home (KBH) - monthly chart
• Toll Brothers (TOL) - monthly chart
• Sears Holdings (SHLD) - weekly chart
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) - monthly chart
• Internet Initiative Japan (IIJI) - 15-minute chart
• Google (GOOG) - 15-minute chart

The Joy and Horror of Living in China

I walked over to the hotel across the street to get the paper. (The International Herald Tribune is 23RMB a copy, which is about $2.78... it breaks my heart to pay that price, but I need an occasional English-language fix.) I said "how are you?" to the sales girl and she instantly said "fine, thank you" in perfect English. I said, "where did you learn to speak such good English?" and she looked me straight in the eye and flawlessly replied, "Number One Hundred Seventy Six Middle School!" That made me smile.

On the way out of the hotel I walked by one of these nouveaux riche guys in the lobby. Just as I passed, he hawked a huge gob of phlegm into the base of a lovely potted plant. That made me cringe.