After seeing some increasing choppiness in the market last week, the S&P 500 and the Dow pushed to a new set of highs at the beginning of the week. Not surprisingly, the Tech sector has been leading the market higher; as measured by the S&P 500 Technology Sector SPDR (XLK), the sector is up a […]
Read MoreOver the last year, one of the best sectors of the stock market’s rally back to, and even above pre-pandemic levels has been the Materials sector. Beginning in mid-May to a peak last week, the sector had increased in value by nearly double by early January, as measured by the S&P 500 Materials Sector SPDR […]
Read MoreOver the last year, COVID-19 has forced businesses in just about every segment of the economy to find ways to adjust. The adoption by corporate America to work-from-home models helped keep a lot of people working, and one of the most intriguing success stories that I think will continue to be told for years to […]
Read MoreLong, extended bull markets – either on a broad basis, or even in an individual stock – generally tend to work against value-focused investors. That’s usually because once investors start to pile into stocks at good valuation levels, it doesn’t take long for prices to increase well beyond the point of useful value. I say […]
Read MoreOne of the challenges that investors have had to deal with throughout the past year is the market’s divergence from economic facts on the ground. From the early stages of the pandemic, analysts could not agree whether the expected, eventual recovery from both a health and economic-driven perspective would manifest as by a move back […]
Read MoreSurveying the stock market right now is an interesting mix of contradictions. It seems that with very few exceptions, every industry in almost every sector has had to absorb some kind of impact from the global pandemic that that plagued the world through 2020, and remains an ongoing concern even as the first practical vaccines […]
Read MoreThe longer a bull market lasts, the more extended price valuations become. The longer that condition continues, the harder it becomes for value-oriented investors to justify long-term investments in most of the stocks, industries and sectors that everybody else is talking about. I think this picture is starting to fit current market conditions, as valuations […]
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 MoreGood news about continued vaccine approval and deployment, along with Congress’ approval of a second stimulus package over the weekend has the major indices very near the highs they set last week. There is a not-too-surprising temptation to think about the end of the pandemic and start looking for all of the ways that the […]
Read MoreMoving closer and closer to Christmas means that most people’s focus is on end-of-the-year celebrations and time with family. I think that’s true this year, even though for many of us 2020 has meant maintaining distance from family members and loved ones; for me and my family, that has also impacted our normal, end-of-the-year massive […]
Read MoreFor the last few years, one of the worst underperformers in the market has been General Electric Company (GE). While the stock has seen a sizable month in the last month, and more than doubled from its March, bear market low as of this writing, it remains in an extremely extended downward trend that began […]
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