This week, I’ve taken some time to pay attention to the energy industry. My focus has been primarily focused on the oil industry in particular, simply because that is perhaps the most impactful of any commodity that is traded on the financial markets. The ebb and flow of supply and demand in oil prices ripples […]
Read MoreOver the last month, the entire market seems to have been holding its breath, waiting for some kind of catalyst to pin the market’s next wave of momentum on. Are indications that the weakening global economy is rippling into the health of the U.S. economy correct, or is an increasingly accommodative Federal Reserve going to […]
Read MoreOver the last week, the market has been muted by concerns about a weakening global economy. That concern is compounded at least by the effects of tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners over the past year. Steel and aluminum tariffs, for example were among the first imposed, and the target of those tariffs […]
Read MoreA little over a month ago, I wrote about the value proposition for Valero Energy Corp. (VLO). The stock is only a bit above its price at that time, but with a new set of quarterly earnings information, it has a somewhat different fundamental profile. A month or so isn’t a lot of time, but […]
Read MoreFor at least a couple of decades, I’ve been intrigued by an investment philosophy that dovetails with eco-friendly initiatives to take better care of our planet. “Going green” is a catchphrase that we’re all pretty familiar with in one form or another. Whether that means separating the trash in your home between recycling bins, driving […]
Read MoreAs a value-oriented investor that uses fundamental analysis to screen the market for attractive opportunities, I’ve had to learn over the years how to differentiate between a stock that looks like a good bargain versus those that really are. The irony of that statement is that just as no stock investment is ever guaranteed, the […]
Read MoreThe semiconductor industry is consistently one of the most interesting segments of the market to pay attention to; it seems to be a benchmark for the rest of the tech sector, and over the past few years has unquestionably lead the market from the standpoint of momentum and performance, to both the upside and downside. […]
Read MoreSince the beginning of 2018, the Materials sector has been one of the worst-performing sectors in the market. Despite an increase since the end of last year of a little more than 10%, the sector remains down more than 14% since January 2018. Concerns throughout the period about increasing commodity costs have been compounded more […]
Read MoreOver the last several years, one of the biggest benchmarks the Fed has used to evaluate the need to raise, lower or maintain their interest rate policy has been the employment rate. Every month, the market seems to hold its breath as a new set of unemployment and salary data is made available and everybody […]
Read MoreOne of the biggest drivers of the global economy is energy. That shouldn’t really come as too big a surprise, since energy products – natural gas, electricity, and oil – are a part of virtually every aspect of every sector. Oil in particular is a commodity that has a ripple effect throughout such a diverse […]
Read MoreThroughout this week, one of the biggest news stories, without question, has been the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jet flown by Ethiopian Air shortly after takeoff on March 10. The crash took the lives of all 157 that were onboard the plane, and it was the second such crash in five months […]
Read MoreThe energy sector is one of the most cyclical sectors of the economy, primarily because of its reliance on oil. Oil prices are often highly volatile depending any number of factors, ranging from geopolitics to weather phenomenon to simply supply and demand. A good example of that volatility was seen in the latter part of […]
Read MoreOne of the classic benchmark of the economy’s health and strength is the housing market. Stocks of retail companies like Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW) often serve as proxies of to guide the market’s perception of the housing market, but it also isn’t uncommon to see experts and analysts referring to homebuilders like D.R. […]
Read MoreMarket news for the last while has seemed to be almost completely focused on the trade war between the U.S. and China – to the point that investors seem to be getting what some might call “trade fatigue” – which could be a point where even if or when a deal is made, the broad […]
Read MoreA few months ago, I wrote about the merger between pharmacy kingpin CVS Health Corporation (CVS) and healthcare insurer Aetna Inc. I decided to try to determine if the deal, which closed shortly after I wrote about it, offered a compelling reason to buy the stock at its price at the time, which at the […]
Read More