With the 4th of July approaching, it's always a good time to get a bit of perspective and take a look at what may happen in the second half of the year. As with predictions they generally tend to never come true, but here are 3 market predictions for the 2nd half of the year.

1- Crude oil will trade down under $100/barrel. As global growth continues to slow, especially in overheated emerging markets, some of the the speculative froth will leave the market and the price will start heading down to a point more in line with fundamentals.

2- The US Dollar will rally against the Euro, and reach a level of 1.42 by the end of December, down from the 1.58 current levels. With European growth expected to potentially contract by more than 1% in the coming quarters, and the US staying out of recession, the market will re-focus on growth differentials in the for-ex markets, providing some much needed strength for the greenback.

Continue reading Three market predictions for the second half of '08

Three market predictions for the second half of '08 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the stock market slowly moving off of lows set early last week, look for Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) earnings to be just what the doctor ordered to rocket the market forward. As Brian White posted, "Google's shares have been shaken from a high of over $700 this past Christmas to under $543 today, as the company has joined in with the overall market teeter-totter amid continued housing worries and recession talk and FUD that spreads like wildfire every week."

I think that the company will report blow out numbers, as it has done in the past. The catch this time is that the market hasn't set Google up for a fall. I don't believe expectations are all that high due to the market rout. If Google surprises to the upside, this will be what the bulls among us have been waiting for, and I would expect a nice 7-10% market move to the upside in the next two to three weeks.

A strong Google report would help justify what I have been saying that technology will be leading the market higher. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had a great report last week, let's hope Google has a similar report tonight.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's has no positions in any stock mentioned as of 1/31/08.

Google's earnings will spark a strong rally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.