Here is an economic data point that you will not hear about in the mainstream financial media: U.S. wage growth in 2017 had been the weakest since 2010. In fact, labor costs rose a paltry 0.35% on a year-over-year basis. Are higher wages for workers, then, right around the bend? Some believe that the tighter labor market is about to spark wage inflation. Yet it seems that this could be wishful thinking. Actual inflation has shown up in housing costs (e.g., rent, repairs,…
Central banks across the globe have acquired $1.5 trillion in assets through the first five months of 2017. The monthly amount ($300 billion) has found its way into virtually every cranny and nook of the financial system. U.S. stocks, European stocks, emerging market equities, higher yielding junk bonds, convertibles, preferred shares, real estate investment trusts, real estate – you name it. Values have continued to climb in spite of inadequate economic growth. When a central bank buys assets with electronically printed…
Stocks rocketed to all-time highs between October 1990 and March of 2000 to register the longest bull market ever (9 years, 5 months). No matter how ridiculous the price-per-stock share – no matter the mindlessness associated with owning U.S. tech stocks at 65 times trailing profits (rather than 15) – the popular view had been that the Internet’s “New Economy” had changed the rules of the game. Unfortunately, it hadn’t. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) gave up 80% of its…
Are the new all-time highs in U.S. large cap stocks as big a deal as the media would have you believe? On a year-over-year basis, other asset classes have been more impressive. Bonds via Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND), gold via SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the “risk-off” Japanese yen via Currency Shares Yen Trust (FXY) have all outperformed the S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY). Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) that captures a wide range of real estate investment trusts has…
Recently, I was speaking with one of the co-founders of the popular exchange-traded fund web site, ETF Database. He wanted to get my thoughts about the problems with “buy-n-hold.” I did not hesitate to give him an earful. Rather than chronicle my conversation in its entirety, or reiterate my commentary from dozens of previous articles on the topic, readers may wish to contemplate the risk of holding onto a permanent portfolio at this moment. Indeed, the risk of hold-n-hope at…
Nearly one-third of S&P 500 corporations have reported earnings and revenue from the third quarter. With 147 companies chiming in, profits are down -0.6% and sales are down -2.7% from a year earlier. One might have thought that several quarters of contraction in earnings and revenue (a.k.a. an “earnings recession” and a “revenue recession”) might have weakened stocks. After all, if robust sales and hearty profits are the primary drivers behind price appreciation for companies in the Dow and the…
Perma-bulls on the major networks routinely gloss over the reduction in stock market breadth. For example, 60% of the Dow 30 components currently sit below long-term moving averages. When companies like Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, DuPont, Intel and Verizon are simultaneously suffering from rally fatigue, one might anticipate an eventual breakdown in the gravity-defying direction of popular benchmarks like the Dow and the S&P 500. It is not just companies in the Dow that are struggling. Most of the individual sector investments…
Bullish borrowers have increased their margin debt to invest in stocks from $445 billion in January to $507 billion today. And why not? The overall price movement for growth sectors of the stock market remains healthy. Flashy sub-segments like cyber-security and biotech continue to soar. For example, I allocated a small portion of moderately aggressive client assets to the Pure Funds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) in early February. Its series of higher lows since its inception lent credibility to…
Lost in the bull market euphoria is the reality that economists have been dead wrong about the direction of asset prices, particularly bond prices. Last December, when 55 of the most prestigious economists across a wide range of institutions had been polled by Bloomberg about where the 10-year yield (3.0%) would end the year, each of the 55 professionals anticipated higher rates. The average of those estimates? 3.41%. And yet, the 10-year will finish the year closer to 2.25%. That…
Both the media and a wide array of financial advisers preach owning a diversified portfolio. Below, I have created a hypothetical asset mix that a moderate growth investor might employ: 30% iShares S&P 500 (IVV) 25% Vanguard Total Bond (BND) 12.5% iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA) 7.5% SPDR S&P Mid-Cap 400 (MDY) 5% SPDR High Yield (JNK) 5% Vanguard Short-Term Bond (BSV) 5% Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO) 5% iShares Russell 2000 Small Cap (IWM) 2.5% Vanguard REIT (VNQ) 2.5% iShares TIPS…
