A couple of decades ago, I was a young man, just getting my start in the stock market and anxious to learn everything I could. One of the many books I was referred to, and was informed should be required reading for anybody just getting started, was One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch. […]
Read MoreThe market’s rally from a low point on Christmas Eve last year has given a lot of investors reason to think that the worst of the correction before that, which tested bear market territory for all of the major market indices, is probably done. With seemingly positive news on the trade front working along with […]
Read MoreIf you spend a couple of minutes talking to anybody that has invested in the stock market for very long, you’ll almost inevitably hear them throw out a few of their favorite idioms. That’s because while sometimes they seem simplistic, obvious, or perhaps even a little silly, the truth is that many of them are […]
Read MoreWhen you spend time scouring the market for investing opportunities, it’s pretty easy to focus on the biggest, most recognizable and most established names in any industry. It isn’t just the name recognition that makes that a logical course to take, either; when a industry in general starts to attract the attention of the broad […]
Read MoreAmong the many sectors that have benefitted by the market’s rally off of a Christmas Eve low, semiconductors have used broad market sentiment to drive into solid intermediate-term upward trends. As measured by the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), the sector is up about 34% from that late-2018 low, and 24% year-to-date. There are a couple […]
Read MoreThe market started this week strong, spurred by optimism from data that indicated both the Chinese and U.S. economies aren’t slowing as much as previously feared. Reports of positive progress on the trade front helped as well, and could give the market a catalyst to rally and push above its March highs. If the news […]
Read MoreThis week, I’ve taken some time to pay attention to the energy industry. My focus has been primarily focused on the oil industry in particular, simply because that is perhaps the most impactful of any commodity that is traded on the financial markets. The ebb and flow of supply and demand in oil prices ripples […]
Read MoreOver the last month, the entire market seems to have been holding its breath, waiting for some kind of catalyst to pin the market’s next wave of momentum on. Are indications that the weakening global economy is rippling into the health of the U.S. economy correct, or is an increasingly accommodative Federal Reserve going to […]
Read MoreOver the last week, the market has been muted by concerns about a weakening global economy. That concern is compounded at least by the effects of tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners over the past year. Steel and aluminum tariffs, for example were among the first imposed, and the target of those tariffs […]
Read MoreA little over a month ago, I wrote about the value proposition for Valero Energy Corp. (VLO). The stock is only a bit above its price at that time, but with a new set of quarterly earnings information, it has a somewhat different fundamental profile. A month or so isn’t a lot of time, but […]
Read MoreFor at least a couple of decades, I’ve been intrigued by an investment philosophy that dovetails with eco-friendly initiatives to take better care of our planet. “Going green” is a catchphrase that we’re all pretty familiar with in one form or another. Whether that means separating the trash in your home between recycling bins, driving […]
Read MoreAs a value-oriented investor that uses fundamental analysis to screen the market for attractive opportunities, I’ve had to learn over the years how to differentiate between a stock that looks like a good bargain versus those that really are. The irony of that statement is that just as no stock investment is ever guaranteed, the […]
Read MoreThe semiconductor industry is consistently one of the most interesting segments of the market to pay attention to; it seems to be a benchmark for the rest of the tech sector, and over the past few years has unquestionably lead the market from the standpoint of momentum and performance, to both the upside and downside. […]
Read MoreSince the beginning of 2018, the Materials sector has been one of the worst-performing sectors in the market. Despite an increase since the end of last year of a little more than 10%, the sector remains down more than 14% since January 2018. Concerns throughout the period about increasing commodity costs have been compounded more […]
Read MoreAs the broad stock market has rallied this year, so also has the price of oil. West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S.-produced oil, has rallied from around $42 per barrel to its current price a little below $60. Even with that increase, however, crude remains more than 21% below its September 2018 highs, […]
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