Over the last couple of days, I’ve focused my attention in this space on stocks in the Beverages industry of the Consumer Staples sector as defensive-oriented stocks that smart investors might want to think about working with under current market conditions. Volatility has been the word of the past month or so, with the market […]
Read MoreIf the market’s uncertainty, as seen so far in a rough start to October that has seen the S&P 500 drop almost 5% from its last peak in mid-September, is any indication, the time might be right to start thinking seriously about readjusting your investing strategy. This is especially true if you’ve been riding the […]
Read MoreI think the rough seas the market had to navigate in the month of September, which is traditionally a pretty volatile month for the stock market anyway, could be precursor to continued uncertainty and volatility that could persist throughout the of the year. Barring some kind of major news development, like an unexpected but much-hoped-for […]
Read MoreStarting into the fourth quarter of 2019, the market seems to be a bit on edge. It’s been a year since the market saw its last significant correction, dropping almost -20% before finding a bottom on Christmas Eve 2018. Continuing questions about trade, increasing scrutiny around impeachment hearings, and questions about whether the economy is […]
Read MoreThe start of the fourth quarter has been rocky so far, with investors hoping for good news coming from renewed trade discussions and the expectation of another rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month, balanced against signs that tariffs are eroding not only corporate profits on a global scale but also starting to wear […]
Read MoreWhen markets become volatile, it usually means that investors are becoming increasingly uncertain and nervous. Uncertainty can come from all kinds of different things – concerns about inflation, wage growth, central bank monetary policy, earnings trends, and geopolitical events. For most of the last three months, most of the uncertainty in the market has revolved […]
Read MoreI find it pretty interesting that despite all the hand-wringing about trade, many of the companies in industries that are most directly affected by tariff uncertainty, including semiconductors, have performed incredibly well this year. Technology companies are among those that everybody recognizes are the most directly impacted by trade, and since tariffs between the U.S. […]
Read MoreA little over six weeks ago, I wrote about HAL in this space, using the stock to analyze the potential opportunity a narrowing spread between the prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil and Brent crude could represent. At the time, and through a big portion of September, pressures from Permian pipeline restrictions (which are […]
Read MoreIf you’re like me, you’re probably a little bit tired of hearing all of the talk about tariffs, China and trade talks. More than simply “the new normal,” trade seems to dominate most of the questions that arise about the health of the global economy and the sustainability of economic growth in the United States. […]
Read MoreAnother week, another wave of trade-centered speculation. Earlier this week, the market decided to rally after President Trump said that a trade deal could happen “sooner than you think.” Yesterday, investor’s mood seemed to sour a bit as a report suggested that the U.S. is unlikely to extend a waiver allowing American companies to do […]
Read MoreIf you read my highlights in this space on a regular basis, you’ve seen me highlight a number of stocks in the semiconductor industry. It’s an interesting segment of the market to me for a number of different reasons. Over the last decade-plus, it’s been one of the highest-performing pockets of the market, arguably one […]
Read MoreAny experienced investor, no matter what their investment philosophy is, will undoubtedly tell you that one of the most useful ways they keep track of new opportunities as they come up is by maintaining a watchlist of stocks that they can check on a regular basis. A good, diversified list of stocks in a variety […]
Read MoreComing into a new week means that there is an entirely new set of market data to look forward to. The earliest part of the latest earnings season is about to kick off, with a small but important set of earnings reports due from companies like Nike Inc. (NKE), Micron Technology (MU), KB Home (KBH), […]
Read MoreThe market has struggled to define a clear direction in the last couple of days. While the Fed did as most economists and analysts predicted, cutting rates by another quarter point this week, the market was less than enthused by Chairman Powell’s comments, which seemed to fail to deliver the kind of clarity about the […]
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