When it comes to identifying stocks that might make useful investments, there are as many strategies as there are people. You can break these strategies into any different number of categories. I like to differentiate between strategies by thinking first about the amount of time I might actually plan to hold the stock in question; […]
Read MoreThe last three days have marked the market’s biggest three-day drop since March, when coronavirus-driven shutdowns brought the global economy to a screeching halt and sent the market plunging to bear market levels in less than a month. For many analysts, myself included, the drawdown has been long overdue, as all three major market indices […]
Read MoreOne of the ironies of the stock market right now is that if you look at the major market indices, it’s easy to say that, right or wrong, investors continue to look for a V-shaped recovery in the U.S. economy. That’s the hope that, while the impact of COVID-19 on virtually every sector in the […]
Read MoreWe’re moving into the last month of the third quarter of 2020, and it looks like the market is finally letting off some steam. The NASDAQ is down nearly -10% in the last two days, leading the major indices lower. It seems apparent that the practically uninterrupted increases of the last few weeks have finally […]
Read MoreMarkets are naturally cyclical – they swing from high to low and back again on a consistent, if unpredictable basis over a range of time frames. The different time periods associated with any given cycle, or sometimes even the depth of a certain cycle’s direction, can shade the casual investor’s perception about a stock’s opportunity. […]
Read MoreUncertain economic conditions have proven to be a good time to think about stocks that most people tend to overlook because they’re “boring.” These are stocks that also tend to operate in counter-cyclical fashion. It’s been interesting – but not surprising – to see a bit of a resurgence in stocks in the Food Products […]
Read MoreThis morning I was a little surprised to see a couple of reports that had analysts saying that since there is no precedent for current market conditions, there is no limit to how much higher the market can go. That kind of capitulation from the analyst side of things – essentially saying “all the rules […]
Read MoreThe question of what sector of the market is the best place to put your money to work is a constant, never-ending quest no matter what current market or economic conditions are. That’s because not all segments of the economy thrive or struggle under the same conditions. The pandemic we’ve all been trying to understand […]
Read MoreEven before the coronavirus pandemic started to take down entire sectors of the economy beginning in February, the Auto industry was experiencing quite a bit of bearish pressure. Sales were down globally, reflecting economic slowing in various parts of the world as well as the effects of an extended trade war between the U.S. and […]
Read MoreOne of the traps that a lot of investors tend to fall into comes from the idiom “a rising tide lifts all boats.” In the broadest sense, the implication is that when the broad market is going up, stocks in general should be going up. The concept also drills down to individual sectors and industries […]
Read MoreNo matter what your investing philosophy is, or how you go about identifying stocks in which to consider putting your money to work, one of the most basic questions you have to ask yourself if whether the potential opportunity outweighs the opposite potential for loss. I like to call that portion of my system reward: […]
Read MoreIn my search for value, I’ve found it useful to develop a watchlist of stocks that I can check on a regular basis. That means that I often recycle stocks that I’ve previously used to make useful investments in, but don’t currently have a position in. That’s useful, because the familiarity that comes with the […]
Read MoreI seem to be noticing a new trend, not just among average consumers and investors, but even among people that I think should be hard-wired to know better, and that’s a desire to just write off 2020 and hit the reset switch. A lot of the commentary and debate among talking heads and market news […]
Read MoreThis week, I’ve turned my attention back to the Pharmacy industry – but specifically focusing on the distributors that supply the biggest pharmacies in the U.S. Understanding how some of those relationships work for a company you may have been following for a while can help identify new opportunities to think about. Over the last […]
Read MoreOne of the reasons I think the economy, and the financial markets are such a fascinating thing to watch is because of the way companies in different aspects of business relate to each other. It’s one thing to look at a retail store, for example and think about basic fundamental elements like sales, earnings, and […]
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