March 2018 - Page 143 of 295 -

A Busy Week In Washington And The Fiduciary Rule’s Fate

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Stocks drifted lower as investors pondered the impacts of tariffs, White House drama, and rising interest rates. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired by President Trump on Tuesday, while Chief of Staff John Kelley told officials that there were no immediate personnel changes planned regarding himself. Meanwhile, a court of appeals ruled that the […]

March Builders’ Confidence On A “Solid Footing”: 5 Picks

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Homebuilders’ confidence data for March was solid. Does this imply that builders are shaking off worries associated with rising costs of materials owing to new tariffs on lumber, aluminum and steel as well as apprehensions related to higher mortgage rates? The latest reading surely points at renewed strength in the sector. According to the latest […]

Ask Slim Market Week – Friday, March 16

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

March 2018: ECRI’s WLI Growth Index Rate Continues To Slow

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward remains in expansion. Analyst Opinion of the trends of the weekly leading indices This index is indicating modest growth six months from today. Here is this week’s update on ECRI’s Weekly Leading Index (note – a positive number indicates growth): Weekly Leading Index Edges […]

US National Debt Hits $21 Trillion

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

For 8 years, we took every opportunity to point out that under Barack Obama’s administration, US debt was rising at an alarmingly rapid rate, having nearly doubled, surging by $9.3 trillion during Obama’s 8 years. It now appears that the trajectory of US debt under the Trump administration will be no different, and in fact based […]

Johnson & Johnson: A Dividend King Worth Owning

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

There are many stocks that are beloved by income focused investors, one group of those are the so called Dividend Aristocrats — companies that have raised their payout for at least 25 years in a row. An even more elite group of companies are the Dividend Kings, companies that have raised their dividend for at […]

Crypto Charting: 5 More Charts On The Outlook For Bitcoin Prices

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

In response to a couple of client queries, we’ve slowly built up some indicators for this still very nascent market. This article follows on from a previous piece we did charting the rise of Bitcoin. While that article focused more on putting things into perspective, today’s article looks at some timing/tactical indicators that draw on analytical […]

US Industry Experiences The Full 2014 Again In February

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

In February 2018, it was like old times for the US industrial sectors. Prior to the 2015-16 downturn, the otherwise moribund economy did produce two genuine booms. The first in the auto sector, the other in energy. Without them, who knows what the no-recovery recovery would have looked like. They were for the longest time […]

S&P 500 Snapshot: Down 1.24% From Last Week, Rising Trade Tensions

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Rising trade tensions contributed to this week’s decline. The S&P 500 closed Friday above Thursday’s close, but fell 1.24% from last week. The index is up 2.08% YTD and is 4.2% below its record close. The U.S. Treasury puts the closing yield on the 10-year note at 2.85%. Here is a daily chart of the […]

Treasury Yield Convergence: When Might Perfect Flatness Arrive?

Mar 16, 2018 Jeremy Parkinson Finance 0

Despite much ballyhoo over yield curve steepening, the chart shows significant flattening process is still underway. At the current rate, the US treasury yield curve will achieve perfect flatness in mid-2019. That’s what the long-term trend on the long-side, coupled with a shorter-term trend on the short-side suggests. The convergence point is approximately 2.72% in […]