Oil prices were among some of the most dramatically impacted components of the global economy at the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. As businesses were shuttered, and shelter-in-place orders ground economic activity everywhere to a halt, demand for crude oil cratered; both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude fell to shockingly low levels. […]
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 MoreVolatility appears to be returning to the markets this week, as concern is increasing about a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Yesterday Fed chair Jerome Powell announced the Fed was planning to keep rates at or near zero through 2022 to support economic recovery following a near-complete shutdown of U.S. business activity in an effort […]
Read MoreOne of the biggest questions value-oriented investors have to ask themselves is the reason a stock may have an interesting valuation. More often than not, one of the simplest reasons is because the stock has been beaten down by the broad market. The reasons for the decline are multitudinous, and can imply cyclical, economic, or […]
Read MoreYou don’t have to be an active investor to have heard about the market’s rapid plunge into bear market conditions as COVID-19 reached pandemic levels, forcing global shutdowns, quarantines and shelter-in-place orders. If you do watch the market closely, then you’ve certainly noticed the market’s rebound from a bear market bottom in late March; in […]
Read MoreComing out of the Memorial Day holiday, and looking over the last couple of weeks, investors seem eager to bet on a continued recovery in the U.S. and global economy, and that has meant the bullish sentiment that pushed a number of stocks off of March, bear-market lows has gotten a fresh new push. Investors […]
Read MoreMarkets are naturally cyclical – they swing from high to low and back again on a consistent, if unpredictable basis over a range of time frames. The different time periods associated with any given cycle, or sometimes even the depth of a certain cycle’s direction, can shade the casual investor’s perception about a stock’s opportunity. […]
Read MoreOne of the ironies of the stock market right now is that if you look at the major market indices, it’s easy to say that, right or wrong, investors are anticipating a V-shaped recovery in the U.S. economy. That’s the hope that, while the impact of COVID-19 on virtually every sector in the economy has […]
Read MoreHaving a contrarian temperament generally means doing the opposite of what most people would do. It’s a mindset that I’ve found very useful as an investor, because while most people tend to flock to stocks that are at or near all-time highs, I’m able to find excellent long-term opportunities at much lower, bargain-level prices. It’s […]
Read MoreI don’t think it’s too surprising that a lot of publicly traded companies have begun suspending their guidance forecasts over the last few weeks. The truth is that the extended, global economic shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to see an even more extended effect, even as countries, states and municipalities begin taking […]
Read MoreNo matter what your investing philosophy is, or how you go about identifying stocks in which to consider putting your money to work, one of the most basic questions you have to ask yourself if whether the potential opportunity outweighs the opposite potential for loss. I like to call that portion of my system reward: […]
Read MoreIn my search for value, I’ve found it useful to develop a watchlist of stocks that I can check on a regular basis. That means that I often recycle stocks that I’ve previously used to make useful investments in, but don’t currently have a position in. That’s useful, because the familiarity that comes with the […]
Read MoreThe last couple of weeks have seen the market rallying strongly, driven primarily by plans announced by various state governments loosening restrictions on business operations and on public lands access. Some have already begun doing that, while others plan to begin on or around May 1. Others in some of the hardest-hit areas of the […]
Read MoreThe market appears to finally be taking notice of the swan dive in oil prices. Lost in the frenzy and angst of COVID-19, shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders, at least until now, was the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia that began at the start of the year and saw West Texas Intermediate crude prices […]
Read MoreThe market seems to be looking for reasons to start functioning something relatively close to normal right now – at least, as much as normal is possible under current circumstances. Last week saw the major indices stage their biggest short-term rally in the last seven decades as investors used unprecedented Fed action to inject the […]
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