One of the themes that has become more and more prevalent over the past year in the stock market is the pace of inflation. Inflation is one of those words that tends to stoke fear in the marketplace, because it is usually tied so closely with central bank monetary policy. it is also something that […]
Read MoreMoving into a new year includes things like New Year’s resolutions, plans for vacations or weekend getaways, and if you live in a cold-weather area of the U.S. as I do, a little bit of longing for warmer climes where you can sit in the sun with family and friends, put some meat on the […]
Read MoreAs recently as last summer, a lot of signs about the global pandemic seemed to suggest that the worst of the worst was over, and we could all finally begin to put COVID-19 concerns and commentary in the rear view. As new, even more contagious variants of the virus have emerged, however, it has become […]
Read MoreAs I’ve studied the market over the years, one of the intriguing contrasts comes in the way different analysis methods take in the “big picture” of the market. That includes the way that fundamental investors and analysts look at the market versus those that prefer to work on strictly technical terms. I like to work […]
Read MoreThe advent of a new year brings with it the prospect of new challenges and new opportunities to embrace. Whether you are the type to set New Year’s resolutions or not, for most of us turning the calendar from one year to the next usually includes some thought about what’s happened and what’s coming up. […]
Read MoreOne of the things I like about value investing is that it complements a natural tendency I’ve had since childhood, which is go against the grain of what people say I should do or want me to do. Growing up, that attitude got me into a lot of trouble – but as an investor it […]
Read MoreWithin the scope of long-term investing, there are two primary methods most investors use: investing for growth, or looking for value. I write a lot in this space about value-oriented investing, because more than two decades of study and hard experience have taught me that it is the investing method that suits me best. It […]
Read MoreAs a conservative-minded, value and fundamental-driven investor, my natural tendency is to shy away from stocks that market experts and popular market media analysts tend to talk to the most about. That means that my investments rarely look very sexy – but I’m far more interested in being able to keep my money working for […]
Read MoreOne of the ways that I think a smart investor keeps track of industry and economic trends that can have a carryover effect on broad market activity. One of the sectors that is useful for the purpose is the Energy sector, since energy products such as petroleum and natural gas are used in the production […]
Read MorePart of taking a smart, value-based approach to investing in the stock market involves keeping track of information on industry and economic trends that are likely to have broad residual impacts on market activity. One of the sectors that I think has a broad carryover effect on multiple other sectors in the economy is Energy, […]
Read MoreSince the beginning of 2021, the energy sector has rebounded strongly from the pandemic-driven pressures that had kept prices – particularly in crude oil – depressed throughout 2020. From a November 2020 low point at around $34, for example, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude more than doubled to an October peak at around $85. The […]
Read MoreOne of the sources of a lot of conversation among talking heads and market analysts in general lies around the “reopening” concept. This theme has been pretty constant for most of the year, even as COVID variants – omicron is just the latest – have extended the health crisis well into 2022, with some experts […]
Read MoreOne of the fairly consistent themes of 2021 has been the impact of the global pandemic on different pockets of the economy. While everybody is anxious to look past the days of social isolation, quarantine and shelter-in-place requirements at the early stages of the crisis, and talk about seeing life get “back to normal,” the […]
Read MoreThe Food Products industry in the Consumer Staples sector is an area of the market that tends to get overlooked because, let’s face it, it just isn’t very sexy. Even so, it is one of very few segments of the market that saw consumer-driven improvements in demand in 2020, especially in the early stages of […]
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