Markets Jittery - Week 3 of UCU Inv. Ch. lll

One would have thought that with strong economic data out of the U.S. would have driven equity markets considerably higher last week - but SuperStorm Sandy and being on the eve of a very tight race for the U.S. Presidency put a real damper on markets - with Friday markets trading down a bunch. 

US non-farm payrolls and factory orders came in much better than expected with positive revisions to earlier data.  However, it wasn't enough to drive positive sentiment.

On the week, the S&P 500 index was up only  a few points, while the TSX was up only 0.65%, barely able to hold to gains following Friday's sell off.

We continue to have our contest led by George F., whose portfolio made some positive advancements on the week, now up about 64% since the start.  Currently in 2nd spot is Thomas W., whose portfolio is up 16% from the start, and in third place we have Andrew R., whose portfolio is up just over 15%.  As can be seen by the chart above, the rest of the contestants are quite literally "breathing down the necks" of our leader board, and so it still remains anyone contest.

We thought it would be interesting to note some of the best performing positions, as there are quite a few that have delivered phenomenal returns over a three week period.  To start with, the best performing position for any portfolio is Thomas W.'s Rusoro Mining which is up a spectacular 100% so far.  Right up there we see Galway Resources, up 83% (Peter Tr.) and Groundstar Resources, up 80% (George F.) as contending for best single holding.  Other honourable mentions include: Sintana Energy, up 31% (Oleh M.); Windland Electronics, up 29% (Lyubomyr T.); Air Canada, up 24% (Stephan B. and Andrew R.), and; Norbord, up 18% (Ivanna F.).