One of the things that market uncertainty does to a lot of investors is to make them more hesitant about taking on new positions. I think that’s a pretty natural reaction, especially when we see the market start to reverse existing trends. Since the beginning of the year, increasing bearish sentiment has finally pushed all […]
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. On the other hand, market downturns are things that tend to give value […]
Read MoreIn market and general news media, the last month has, not surprisingly been dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with a couple of side notes about the long-term economic effect of increasing Western sanctions on Russia that helped spike oil and energy prices, and rising inflation. This month also saw the Federal Reserve raise its […]
Read MoreOne of the primary and most basic differences between growth and value investing lies in the way that the extreme ends of price swings are interpreted and used. For a growth-focused investor, seeing a stock at or near historical highs is a great thing, pointing to good signs of continued growth, since stocks tend to […]
Read MoreFor most of 2022, supply shortages, along with increasing energy demand have been pushing the prices of energy products, including crude oil and natural gas to levels not seen since 2014. Even more support for those high prices has come in the last month as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted the West to impose […]
Read MoreIn my opinion, one of the really surprising stories of the past two years has been not only the resilience, but the simple outperformance of the real estate industry. Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic and all of the complications that have accompanied it, and that some now say we may never fully get away from, […]
Read MoreThe last two years have seen a lot of different storylines emerge. COVID is still very much a thing, and isn’t likely to go away soon; the question at this stage is when we’ll be able to say that we have moved from “pandemic” conditions to “endemic” – where a virus or disease is regularly […]
Read MoreThe Tech sector has enjoyed a lion’s share of attention among all segments of the economy for a number of years. Throughout the pandemic, that attention only seemed both intensified and justified, as technology companies provided the tools that allowed much of corporate America to keep things going by shifting their workforces to remote working […]
Read MoreLooking for value in the stock market is something that I have found can be done in any market condition, but it is something that tends to get dismissed by most pundits simply because it isn’t very sexy. Popular, “buzzy” names like Tesla, Netflix, and Amazon practically never pass the value test because the massive […]
Read MoreFor more than two years – even before COVID-19 became a global pandemic that collapsed economic and social activity for most of 2020 and that strained health care systems and kept pressure on a variety of economic forces through all of 2021 – I’ve been writing about the wisdom in being very selective about the […]
Read MoreFor most of the past two years, any examination of the Pharmaceutical industry has necessarily begun and ended with COVID-19 vaccines. Literally, of course, this isn’t true; diseases and viruses of all kinds don’t take a holiday during a pandemic, and so development of existing projects for any company in this industry hasn’t stopped, either. […]
Read MoreStocks in the Technology sector get a lot of attention and buzz from investors, analysts and talking heads alike no matter the time of year or current status of the economy. I think that a big reason comes from the reality that progress and evolution in just about every other sector of the economy is, […]
Read MoreIt is interesting to observe the distinction in performance between different sectors and industries, and their possible correlation to broader economic activity. One of the places where I think that can be seen more easily is in evaluating large-cap versus small-cap stocks. If you look at most of the biggest and most recognizable names in […]
Read MoreOne of the things I like about value investing is that it complements a natural tendency I’ve had since childhood, which is to go against the grain of what people say I should do or want me to do. Not surprisingly, that attitude got me into a lot of trouble as a kid – but […]
Read MoreTo say that in 2022, the market has been rocky is certainly an understatement. Fears of inflation and interest rate increases quickly gave way to rising oil prices and the now-ongoing conflict in Ukraine that seems unlikely to see a quick or peaceful end. All of it together has created a pretty constant state of […]
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