The holiday season is make or break for the rest of the year. Starting with the Friday following Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday, most retailers finally come into profitability. This year could be a whole new ballgame, however, as millions of Americans sit unemployed and unable to spend as much this year as they had in years prior. Read more…
Oil’s climb to $80 per barrel is indicative that the economic wheel’s are turning. Stimulus efforts, deficit spending and infrastructure investment has giving economic activity a jump, however the fundamentals remain weak. Read more…
I never thought derivatives would get their day in the spotlight with retail investors. Already offered to investors are futures, options, and in other countries, contracts for difference. This new and interesting exchange could be the start of something big for retail investors. Read more…
Banks will pay out more in bonuses in 2009 than any other year in history. Amid bailouts and special accounting gifts from government, some are feeling ripped off while others view the bonuses as just a cost of business. Here are a few viewpoints and solutions, and we’d love for you to leave yours in the comments section. Read more…
China’s economic growth surged to 8.9% in the third quarter of 2009, returning China to 2007 when its economy was hot and heavy in import cash. Much of the growth is from its $586 billion stimulus program. So why is China’s stimulus working so well when the US stimulus hasn’t seemed to make a dent. Read more…
It is not very often that investors get the chance to invest in a Latin American nation as solid as Brazil. After its stock market’s have surged nearly 100% year to date, the economic fundamentals of the nation have been solidified. Brazil is a country that has earned your long term investments.
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As many have seen I have been incredibly anti-ETFs in the past. But for one demographic, ETFs may serve a very underserved demographic-those reaching retirement age. Read more…
As traders prepare for another bout of earnings, analysts are most focused on the banking sector. Strong stock returns since March 9 may help banks clear earnings season with a positive number, even as loan losses continue to grow. Read more…
If it wasn’t already, its official: green tech and solar stocks are going to be the next big thing for the US stock markets. With so much federal cash flowing into energy reduction/conservation, and key players hopping on board, the new wave in energy is looking like it may be the next investment bubble too. Read more…
Gold’s recent surge has some investors wondering if gold might be the next bubble. After having already quadrupled in price since 2003, some worry that gold may soon take a breather. But there are many fundamental and techincal reasons as to why $900 gold might not be back for some time to come. Read more…
Investors have for a long time feared October and embraced August. October, of course, is the worst average month for stock returns with the Great Depression beginning in October. August, on the other hand, performs well, which has been attributed to a Congress on recess. Read more…
To be honest, at this point its anyone’s ball game for the future of the stock markets. Though, while shamelessly pressing the charts to see what I could squeeze out of them, I may have stumbled on what could be the market’s new trend. Read more…
I have long believed that the LIBOR rate, at least in this credit driven economy, is one of the most important economic indicators. The 12-month LIBOR rate has consistently dropped and is now in range of where all previous economic recoveries began. Read more…
The shift from safety to risky is already happening. Investors, no longer excited by paltry yields on treasury bonds, are finding that stocks are the only way to really grow their wealth. This is good news for the market, and should be good new for you, pending your re-entry to the global stock markets. Read more…
Whether you’re looking to smooth out dips in the market, or have just a few short years to retire, a sound investment strategy may include what is known as a “collar.” This simple strategy has been deployed by hedge funds, pensions, and other institutions with great success. In fact, a recent study found it to be more successful than buy-and-hold investing over the past 10 years.
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Sorry, Dell, but you’re too late to this party. I was once a big believer in Dell, and its business model, but it seems this company may be just too far behind the times. Read more…
In what seems like a power grab between Amazon and the retailers it currently services, Amazon’s new low cost brand could be a big winner. AmazonBasics is set to launch soon, offering audio and video cables, computer networking cables and blank DVDs at a price unmatched by any of its current sellers. Read more…
The Obama administration acted quickly and quietly Friday night to impose new tariffs on Chinese produced automobile tires. The new tariff of 35% is a huge change from the relatively low 4% tariff imposed before Friday. What does this mean for US tire makers and their shares? And what about the global economy? Read more…
Corporate insiders have been selling off loads of stock in their own companies among others. Insider selling has hit a pace last unseen since Summer 2007, right before stocks began their freefall. Read more…
China’s sovereign wealth fund has been quiet. Too quiet. The fund that made up some of the biggest acquisitions in 2008 is back from the dead, this time, in another major international purchase.
The sovereign wealth fund of China has entered a deal to purchase $1.7 Billion of Canadian oil sands. The deal follows several large commodity deals completed in 2008 in which China, through its sovereign wealth fund, purchased natural resources all around the globe. This purchase, however, is more long term, with China opting to buy resources for the future rather than for today.
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While I have not tried even to the slightest extent to hide my opposition to a central bank in this country, I’ll try to be as objective as possible when looking at Bernanke’s history. I believe the best basis for comparison resides in contrasting him against other chairmen of the Fed, including the previous chairmen such as Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker. Read more…
I don’t usually put much weight in analysts’ upgrades or downgrades. Usually they’ll upgrade a stock to “outperform” and give a price of $x per share then sell at $X – 5. But I like to see why analysts are making the upgrade or downgrade, usually its due to earnings, but now it looks like analysts are downgrading on high stock prices. Read more…
The market is at a crossroads after beaming off its March 9 lows. With the financially catastrophic banking numbers behind us, but unemployment still growing, the outlook for the economy is as unpredictable as the future of the major indices. Read more…
Look out below! A comment from a staffer at the White House indicated that the administration was willing to give up on a public option for health care, still seeking healthcare reform, but would not seek the creation of a government owned insurance company. Read more…
The Federal Reserve has played more of a position in this recession than any in history, acting first to drop rates to questionably low levels while quantitatively easing the credit markets to the tune of more than $1.5 trillion. Undoubtedly, today’s low overnight rate of .25% will not be around forever, and now the pressure is on to push rates higher.
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