Fed Pulls Back To Two Hikes, Dollar Drops And Stocks Rally
The Federal Reserve halved the number of rate hikes it anticipates this year from four to two. The market has been moving toward this as well after having thought the would be no hikes this year. The dollar sold off. The dollar-bloc currencies and emerging market currencies are have rallied sharply. Risk assets in general like […]
Economic Destiny
The idea that China was transitioning to a “consumer led” economy was always a precarious wish. Doubts start with the timing, as it wasn’t until 2009 that it was even proposed, but the idea really didn’t gain any traction until after 2012. In other words, the only time Chinese consumers were ever given much thought […]
Post-FOMC; UUP Is Down
Not only was there not a policy surprise – you know, in the face of recent commodity strength and those embedded services costs throughout the economy – but the Fed did not even talk tough, which I thought they might do. Maybe Yellen will wobble and speak out of both sides of her mouth at the press […]
FOMC Statement – Backing Off On The Rate Increases, Lowering Forecasts
The Fed recognized that growth is slow, and that inflation remains subdued. I include a chart of the real median household income to demonstrate why the recovery is so wobbly. Demand and investment are weak because people have less money to spend. Wow, what a surprise. The Fed attributes this uncertainty to ‘global economic and […]
Industrial Production Dips 0.5%, Only Up Twice In Past 14 Months
Industrial production for February returned to the negative column in a Fed report today on Production and Capacity Utilization. It’s down 0.5% from January. In the past 14 months industrial production has only been up twice. Last month, January, was one of those months. In January, colder than normal weather spurred a surge on utilities. The […]
February 2016 Residential Building Continues Growth
Be careful in analyzing this data set with a microscope as the potential error ranges and backward revisions are significant. Also the nature of this industry variations from month to month so the rolling averages are the best way to view this series – and the data remains in the range we have seen over […]
Four Lessons From A Recovering Value Investor
My friends often ask me if it was hard making the change from being a value investor to becoming an early-stage startup investor. I reply with a shrug and two words: “What change?” They think I’m kidding. I am just a little, but not as much as you’d think. At first glance, value stocks and […]
ETF Deathwatch For March 2016: O’Shares ETFs Are Dead To Me
The quantity of funds on ETF Deathwatch surged by 20 this month, establishing a new record high. With 28 new names joining the list and just eight leaving, the membership roll now has 418 entries and easily surpasses the previous record of 403 set in September 2012. On a percentage basis, one can make the argument that […]
3 Best-Ranked BlackRock Mutual Funds To Boost Your Portfolio
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is the world’s largest asset management corporation with over $238 billion worth of assets under management (excluding money market assets). It caters to institutional, intermediary and individual investors through a wide range of products and services. It offers a range of risk management, strategic advisor and enterprise investment system services. BlackRock’s offerings […]
Building An IKEA Portfolio
Cartoon Capers If you get someone to build an IKEA sideboard – you know, one of those flat-pack conundrums that involves trying to work out what a cartoon character is doing with a hammer, a drill and forty three assorted metal dowels – they immediately place a higher value on it than anyone else would, […]
