Are U.S. Stocks Really The Only Game In Town?
The S&P 500 notched an all-time record high of 2130 on May 21, 2015. That was 10 months ago. Since that date, the popular gauge has suffered two faith-rattling corrections – a 12% decline in August of 2015 and a 14% pullback in February of 2016. Granted, U.S. stocks rallied back to respectable levels after each […]
Chart Of The Week – 2008 Or 2011?
Credit spreads are a big input to our investment process. It was the widening of spreads that convinced us to reduce our equity allocation before the volatility of last year. But active asset allocation requires that you get two consecutive decisions correct and that isn’t an easy task. Right now, for instance, we are watching spreads intently […]
BofA Explains Why The ECB Will Be Forced To Buy Junk Bonds
In April of last year we said the ECB would soon end up buying corporate bonds. We’re not sure if one year later counts as “soon” or not, but ultimately, we were proven correct when, earlier this month, Mario Draghi announced a new easing “package” that includes IG non-fin EU corporates as part of a plan to […]
+20% For 2016!
Silly, hyperbolic title aside, that is my gain for 2016 when backing out the fact that I have been generally around 90% cash and Treasury bond equivalents while being long and short stocks with the other 10%. It does not include a long-term gold position, which I don’t count as a capital appreciation (or loss) […]
Will The Price Of Silver Extend Its Gains?
The multi-day trend for silver prices remains bullish above last week’s low of $15.21 and prices may reach last week’s high of $16.16, followed by the October 15, 2015 high of $16.24. Traders who are not long and would like to take advantage of the trend might wait for a pullback to the $15.79 – $15.57 range. […]
EC Gasoline Volume Sales And Our Changing Culture – March 2016
The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly data on volume sales is several weeks old when it released. The latest numbers, through mid-January, are now available. However, despite the lag, this report offers an interesting perspective on fascinating aspects of the US economy. Gasoline prices and increases in fuel efficiency are important factors, but there […]
Sell These 5 Dangerous High-Yield Stocks
These five high-yield stocks are popular among income investors because of their large dividend payments, but their businesses are at risk of cutting these payments or even suspending them completely. If that happens their share prices will plummet, so Tim Plaehn is recommending investors avoid or sell these five widely-owned dividend stocks. The generally accepted […]
Surge In Negative Headlines Usually Very Good Omen For The Markets
Watch out for emergencies. They are your big chance. – Fritz Reiner Over the past few weeks, the number of individuals in the neutral camp rose, as did the number of bulls, and only the number of bears experienced a drop. When we combine the individuals in the neutral camp with the number of individuals […]
E The Hard Numbers Behind Selling In May
Followers of my Trade Alert service have watched me shrink my book down to only two positions, the smallest of the year. That’s because I am a big fan of buying straw hats in the dead of winter and umbrellas in the sizzling heat of the summer. I even load up on Christmas ornaments every […]
