RE:Fundamentals verses technicals (reading the tea leaves)
BB and DB, good discussion on technical analysis vs. fundamental analysis. I have always had the most success by combining both, and will trade both long term and short term opportunities as they arise. As I said in a previous post, the battlefield is littered with bodies of technical analysts in this game (case in point, I thought I had identified a "cup and handle" pattern developing in the IAE chart a few weeks back which formed part of my prediction that we would see $3+ after such great A2 results - so much for that prediction!). In the case of IAE, a company with such strong fundamentals, and which is also undervalued relative to those fundamentals, should command a higher price over time. Along the way however the price volatility can chart various identifiable technical patterns, and so I thought that a price around $2.35 would be an entry point from both a fundamental and technical point of view, yet while keeping some powder dry in case it weakens some more down towards $2. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to short IAE simply because it is so fundamentally undervalued that it would not be inconceivable to wake up one morning with a valid TO on the table and a sp that has gapped up to $3++ in response. So, fundamental analysis combined with technical analysis has, at least for me, provided the most success over time.