Over the hump but the results season roulette wheel keeps on spinning for another week. Ben O’Leary takes a quick look at what to expect from some of the upcoming results and the ex-dividend dates to be aware of. 

This week On the Couch Henry is joined by not one but two guests with Bryce Leske and Alec Renehan the podcast doyens from EquityMates. Two great young guys starting out on their investment journey and sharing with the world. They have created a series of successful educational podcasts which interview industry experts on investing and all things finance. Marcus and I have both done interviews with them, but today we turn the tables. We had a great chat. Get your kids to listen as well. 

In today's podcast we look at a template for living with "Never Ending Pandemic Concerns" which is the prediction of one strategist. If we adopt the New York mantra life may become a series of lock down stages depending on infection parameters as is happening in Victoria and Australia already and the economic damage that ensues will depend upon the settings. For instance New York will close schools again if positive COVID testing rises above 3%. We look at market risks today, the recovery in travel stocks, Unibail-Rodamco which hasn't been going too well this week and a couple of interesting stocks that are changing trend. We also talk about the portfolio including more holdings in smaller sizes as our funds under management approach $100m. 

The Results Roulette wheel continues to turn. IEL up 30% on results. WEB down 10%. No change in Portfolio holdings today, feeling rather overwhelmed by the frantic nature of the results season and the need to cover a lot of ground in not enough time. Being 'frantic' is no fun but this is about as bad as it gets  - this week and next week. Meanwhile I present a Smorgasbord of interesting items including a guide on how to track Director Transactions highlighting some interesting activity going on at the moment. We also show you how to track shorting and highlight the most shorted stocks in the market. We also have an article on the results next week with some stock specific comments from Ben. At the bottom of the STRATEGY piece are a couple of technical buy signals on stocks. An ugly day on the market today, top of the trading range with some of the results failing to impress.

A very busy day of results today, swamped in fact. The S&P 500 hits a new high prompting a conversation about how to spot the top of the market. A few other themes developing including discretionary retail having a boom on stimulus cheques that are going to run out. Another theme is the Chinese probe into Australian wine dumping which raises the possibility of all Australian stocks exposed to China moving to a discount rather than a premium. We add to our CSL holding this morning and add another two stocks to the growth portfolio. Lots of ideas around and I have started to put a few of them, those that don't make the portfolio, at the bottom of the strategy section. Enjoy.

Busy day as I deliver a Webinar to the ASA - they sold out (600 tickets) which makes it blindingly obvious I need to be doing this for Marcus Today Members. I will buy the software today. A copy of the presentation will be in the newsletter soon. Otherwise we hoping for a market breakout as virus news improves. BHP results a slight miss. WBC not paying a dividend taking the sector down. Wish we'd never heard of the banks sometimes - just as we give up, that's when they'll bounce. Have included an article on Orangutans today. Enjoy.

As we enter the busiest week on the results calendar Ben O'Leary has a look at how things are travelling so far and what to expect from some of the big names reporting soon. 

This week Marcus presents the first of a new series called In the Boardroom which this week takes us into the boardroom of listed company Poseidon Nickel (ASX Code: POS) accompanied by its CEO Peter Harold. POS is sitting on nickel resources that at some point, with a bit of exploration success and a higher nickel price, will become an operating mine, at which point the share price would no longer be 4.5c. Can it be done? Peter knows all about turning a small resource into a full scale nickel operation having done just that with a company called Panoramic Resources that listed as a $3m IPO called Sally Malay in 2001. On the day of listing it hit 11c. Peter and his team turned it into a 600c nickel behemoth at the peak of the resources boom. Can Peter and the Poseidon Nickel team turn POS into another 60 bagger? Hear for yourself as Marcus takes Peter, "Into the Boardroom".  

Today we talk about Bassett hounds and Greyhounds and make it very clear what our recent strategy change has been that has prompted us to move from all-cash to 80% invested. Outlined in the strategy section today are the stocks we have bought, the themes we have bought and why we have bought them. I also highlight three sector themes that have been significant beneficiaries from the pandemic that we have not bought but should have and may still do. The lists of those interesting stocks are in the newsletter today.

A results roller-coaster today as some stocks fly and AGL and Telstra die. The Futures were up 42 and we're down 42. Banks fold as the CBA results reaction from yesterday is muted at best. A day to forget. Meanwhile we deliver the new presentation the MT portfolios in the STRATEGY section today - hopefully you'll see these as a huge leap in transparency. Meanwhile we discuss the Northern hemisphere moving on from the virus and the risk that the Southern hemisphere islands of Australia and NZ, who are trying to defend zero cases, are putting us at odds with the rest of the World. The zero cases target is noble, but is it realistic if the rest of the World won't play ball. Is it unrealistic ambition, or, if Winter arrives in the North and it all blows up again, a stroke of prudent genius. Who knows. Meanwhile the US moves its focus to the US election, bond yields continue to hint at an economic bottom, and the results season makes it clear that this is a month of heightened risk.