Some of the early-morning market commentary today focused on the fact that with yesterday’s close, the S&P 500 has moved above its pre-pandemic high – leading those participating to call for the “official” end to the shortest bear market in history. While that may technically be true, it doesn’t automatically mean that investors should take […]
Read MoreIn the early stages of the arrival and spread of COVID-19 in the United States, I wrote in this space about my belief that one of the best places a smart investor should focus their attention is on healthcare stocks, including companies in the pharmacy space. Vaccine commentary and speculation continues to be a daily […]
Read MoreThe market’s activity over the last couple of weeks, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ pushing to highs above pre-pandemic levels, and the Dow within shouting distance of its own early 2020 highs, seems to be giving a lot of investors reason to believe broad conditions are better than they really are. While there certainly […]
Read MoreWith so much in flux about the financial markets and the health of the global economy, it can be a challenge to know how to best position yourself as an investor. It doesn’t really help to know that there are tens of thousands of available stocks to choose from, each of which can be used […]
Read MoreAs a value-focused investor with more than a bit of a contrarian bent, I tend to get nervous when stocks keep making one new high after another, and I like it when I see stocks trading at or near historical lows. That’s pretty different than the mindset of most investors that focus on growth first, […]
Read MoreThe “herd mentality” can be a funny thing to think about in societal terms – but it’s a real thing in the stock market. The sheer number of publicly traded stocks on U.S. exchanges alone creates a wave of market data that no single person can handle alone, and that’s a big reason why it […]
Read MoreOne of the biggest questions value-oriented investors have to ask themselves is the reason a stock may look like a good bargain. More often than not, one of the simplest reasons is because the stock has been beaten down by the broad market. The reasons for the decline can be multitudinous, and can imply any […]
Read MoreThere is a pretty significant difference in the way different investors perceive a stock in a long-term downward trend. For growth oriented-investors, the longer the downward trend, the less attractive the stock is, simply because the expectation is that the longer, bearish trend will outlast any near-term, bullish sentiment or momentum the stock may see. […]
Read More“Coronavirus exhaustion” may not be a real term – but I do believe it’s a real thing. There seems to be a real sense of exhaustion about the pandemic that is contributing to a number of factors in the United States – including, to some degree, the market’s seeming resilience and resistance over the last […]
Read MoreWhen the economy is on uncertain ground, it’s easy to look at the biggest, most established companies in the market for ways to keep your money working for you. That’s because those are the names that, no matter what industry or sector they operate in, are most likely to have the fundamental strength – in […]
Read MoreMoving deeper into a new earnings season, it is true that a number of the largest and most recognized names in the market have been posting better earnings results in the last quarter than expected. In many cases, companies have displayed an impressive ability to shift gears from traditional, office-based work arrangements to nearly complete […]
Read MoreMost of us are certainly getting tired of continuing to hear and read about COVID-19. Daily statistics about infections, mortality rates, and rolling averages of both can really wear on even the most patient person. The truth, of course is that this isn’t something that is going to go away – not as long as […]
Read MoreOver the last several months, the Aerospace industry, which includes commercial airlines has been one of the biggest, unquestioned losers in the stock market. Yes, the biggest portion of that drop comes from the reality that the industry took some of the biggest drawdowns in the market starting in February as commercial travel dried up […]
Read MoreIf you listen to analysts and talking heads on popular news media, the best places to be in the stock market include the Technology sector, which makes a certain kind of sense since Tech stocks have generally been the highest performers since the market hit a bear market bottom in March of this year. A […]
Read MoreJust about all of the attention of market analysts and talking heads this year has focused on just a couple of economic sectors as the best places to find opportunities for growth in the stock market. Given the fact that the entire world has had to deal with the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, and […]
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