Due to a nasty contract dispute with my co-host and VP, Egineering, Sven Junkergard, we have put The Slice, Cake’s wildly-popular weekly video show, on indefinite hiatus.  But you will not have to wait until The Slice gets picked up for syndication to enjoy the market insights that made the show a must-see for investors everywhere.  I will pick up where we left off and share trends and insights once or twice a week based on what our members are buying and selling.

In analyzing the actual investing activity (and non-activity) of Cake members we get a unique look at the markets.  Particulalry with the volatility of today’s markets, it is helpful to get insights regarding where people are really putting their money.  Based on our research, stocks, mutual funds, and ETF’s whose Cake Take (our rating system) moved from an “F” (people selling) one month, to an “A” the following month, significantly outperformed the market.

So, I thought you might be interested in the 16 positions that moved from an “F” in October to an “A” in November.  And remember, the Cake Take is an algorithm that automatically reflects what investors are really doing rather than an assessment by us.  The list is fascinating:

“F” To “A” on Cake (www.cakefinancial.com) for November, 2008

1. AIB- Allied Irish Bank
2. AMZN- Amazon
3. EBAY- Ebay
4. GD- General Dynamics
5. JRCC- James River Coal Company
6. LCC- US Air
7. LM- Legg Mason
8. MKL- Markel Corporation
9. ORCL- Oracle
10. SKF- ProShares Ultrashort Financials
11. SWHFX- Schwab Health Care
12. URE- ProShares Ultra Real Estate
13. VDSI- Vasco Data Security
14. VNQ- Vanguard REIT ETF
15. VTV- Vanguard Value ETF
16. VWO- Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF

In the next post, I will summarize the positions that went from “A” to “F”, which, according to our analysis, significantly lag the market’s performance.

The Slice is back this week - and full of Steve and Sven’s widely-acclaimed analysis of the weekly trends* happening on Cake.  That is, the trends of Cake’s top performers:  the Elite-ranked (top 1%) and Platinum-ranked (2%- 10%).

Popular Buys:

• Part of the "bullish on India" bit: IBN

• And the company that nobody has really heard of, but has a huge market cap: PBR

And Sells:

• Who’s laughing now: AMZN

• Cashing out: V

Can’t get enough?  For more insights and "hidden gems", you gotta check out the new Market Insights page (where you can also conveniently watch The Slice, too).

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* While Steve and Sven do indeed have lots of interesting things to say, please accept their observations as simply brilliant commentary, not as recommendations.

In this week’s The Slice, Steve and Sven muse about the persistence of bonds, why investors are selling Amazon, and even discuss, um, topical ointments. 

They of course talk about the most active positions on Cake, too: VBIMX, VASGX, AMZN

And the search for Lindsey Campbell continues, so if anyone knows where she (or her agent) is, can you please put us in touch?