One of the best-performing areas of the economy over the past year has been the Consumer Discretionary sector, which has increased in value by about 38% over that period, as measured by the S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Sector SPDR ETF (XLY). Much of that bullish move was driven by the consumer shift during the restrictive […]
Read MoreOne of the sources of a lot of conversation among talking heads and market analysts in general lies around the “reopening” concept. With social and business restrictions easing across the United States, many of the activities we all enjoyed prior to the global pandemic are coming back into a vogue. The most recent Memorial Day […]
Read MoreOne of the primary fundamental metrics I have learned to use over the years to filter through the tens of thousands of publicly traded companies in the stock market is to look for a history of dividend payout. Dividends are one of the simplest ways for a company’s management to express confidence in its long-term […]
Read MoreIn market terms, one of the natural side effects of the COVID-19 health crisis has been an elevated focus on stocks in the Healthcare sector. That covers a wide range of industries, from health insurance to biopharmaceutical and healthcare equipment and supplies. All of these companies have spent the last eighteen months not only coping […]
Read MoreRecessionary economic conditions tend to challenge a lot of different segments of the market. Some sectors of the economy are commonly seen as smart, defensive places to put your money to work in when the health of the broad economy is uncertain. Consumer Staples stocks in the Food Products industry, Healthcare stocks of all types […]
Read MoreThe Tech sector has easily been one of the most closely watched segments of the economy throughout the past year and a half. Technology companies provided the tools that allowed much of corporate America to keep things going during the pandemic by shifting their workforces to remote working models, and investors bought those stocks enthusiastically, […]
Read MoreAs much as everybody is anxious to put the pandemic and COVID-19 concerns and commentary in the rear view, the practical reality is that the aftermath – which includes dealing with ongoing health concerns – will continue to extend through the rest of the year. In the United States, it’s tempting to say that the […]
Read MoreOver the last year and a half, the Tech sector has led the market, where a number of stocks not only recovered their pre-pandemic highs but even surged to entirely new highs as investors piled into just about anything with even a tangential relationship to the global business shift to remote, cloud-based operations. The momentum […]
Read MoreAs COVID-19 continues to fade as a primary concern in the U.S., analysts are naturally starting to talk about the pace of recovering economic activity. That includes just about every sector and industry that has been impacted by the pandemic-driven restrictions on social gathering, mask-wearing mandates and more, including the Consumer Discretionary sector, which includes […]
Read MoreIn the Technology sector, one of the most interesting trends to follow for the past few years has come from streaming media. Services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu were the early entrants into this fast-growing segment that has since seen a number of major broadcasting companies see the light and jump into the fray […]
Read More