While the weekend’s news of a partial trade deal between the U.S. and China seems to have given the market some hope that better things are ahead on the trade front, I think there are still some risks. Monday’s market action gave a pretty good view of that reality as investors tried to parse through […]
Read MoreOver the last couple of days, I’ve focused my attention in this space on stocks in the Beverages industry of the Consumer Staples sector as defensive-oriented stocks that smart investors might want to think about working with under current market conditions. Volatility has been the word of the past month or so, with the market […]
Read MoreIf the market’s uncertainty, as seen so far in a rough start to October that has seen the S&P 500 drop almost 5% from its last peak in mid-September, is any indication, the time might be right to start thinking seriously about readjusting your investing strategy. This is especially true if you’ve been riding the […]
Read MoreI think the rough seas the market had to navigate in the month of September, which is traditionally a pretty volatile month for the stock market anyway, could be precursor to continued uncertainty and volatility that could persist throughout the of the year. Barring some kind of major news development, like an unexpected but much-hoped-for […]
Read MoreStarting into the fourth quarter of 2019, the market seems to be a bit on edge. It’s been a year since the market saw its last significant correction, dropping almost -20% before finding a bottom on Christmas Eve 2018. Continuing questions about trade, increasing scrutiny around impeachment hearings, and questions about whether the economy is […]
Read MoreWhen markets become volatile, it usually means that investors are becoming increasingly uncertain and nervous. Uncertainty can come from all kinds of different things – concerns about inflation, wage growth, central bank monetary policy, earnings trends, and geopolitical events. For most of the last three months, most of the uncertainty in the market has revolved […]
Read MoreAnother week, another wave of trade-centered speculation. Earlier this week, the market decided to rally after President Trump said that a trade deal could happen “sooner than you think.” Yesterday, investor’s mood seemed to sour a bit as a report suggested that the U.S. is unlikely to extend a waiver allowing American companies to do […]
Read MoreOne of the challenges my approach to value investing gives me is how to work with stocks that have been performing strongly under current market conditions. My method tends to favor stocks trading at the lower end of its historical trading ranges, and so seeing a stock already in a long, sustained upward trend usually […]
Read MorePlus, oil prices are surging, airline stocks are falling, GM union workers are striking, and Apple’s newest iPhones are beating demand expectations.
Read MoreYears ago, as I began my career as an investor, I read a book by Peter Lynch. Mr. Lynch had made his name, and his fortune, as the manager of Fidelity’s flagship Magellan fund in the late /70’s and ’80’s, and his incredible performance was one of the big reasons Magellan, at the time, was […]
Read MoreIn the last week, one of the interesting threads that I’ve seen come out of the market’s latest run of volatility is a wave of investor rotation into “defensive” sectors, which usually includes Utilities, Consumer Staples and other pockets of the market that investors tend to think of as safe havens when market uncertainty is […]
Read MoreMorgan Stanley says these 4 defensive names are buys right now.
Read More2019 has been an interesting year for investors so far; we’ve watched the market raD to a new all-time high after testing near-bear market levels into Christmas 2018. One of the things that has marked this new bullish raD has been the fact that defensive sectors have been among the biggest winners. While the raD […]
Read MoreIn 2019, one of the most interesting sectors in the entire market is the Consumer Staples sector. I tend to think of stocks in this sector, which include Food, Personal Care, and big-box retailers and grocers, as being defensive in nature, useful as a way to keep your money working for you in uncertain market […]
Read More