Bill Gross, manager of Pimco Total Return, believes that the 30-year bond bull is winding down. He’s not bullish on stocks per se. However, his “New Normal” paradigm recognizes that developed market government debt yields will climb, sending bond prices lower. Since governments can print money to keep from defaulting, however, rising government yields would put pressure on corporations that [...] Continue Reading...
Most of the conversation has been centered around the inevitability of rates going higher… much, much higher. Yet every time that the 10-year treasury yield works its way towards 4%, bond buyers have been stepping forward. With Intel confirming strength in semis… and perhaps the broader economy at large… is 4% about to break altogether? If [...] Continue Reading...
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its monthly index of small business optimism fell again in March; in fact, the measure has fallen for 18 straight months, as the U.S. indexes keep hitting 18-month highs. Yet small businesses represent about 2/3 of the hiring power in the U.S. Does this suggest that Wall Street is [...] Continue Reading...
Many folks have had a lot of trouble understanding why the Homebuilders ETF (XHB) has done such a phenomenal job of outperforming the market. Well, it’s not a pure play on the likes of Toll Brothers, KB Homes or Lennar. XHB has a whole lot of retailers and capital goods makers vis-a-vis “housing-related companies.” Think Lowe’s, Home Depot and [...] Continue Reading...
I read an interesting theory about investing in China stock ETFs. Since the yuan is all but certain to climb against the greenback… and since there’s a risk of other forms of credit tightening in China… investors may wish to sell China stock assets. I’ve read this in a few different places now. And yet, I [...] Continue Reading...
Scores of financial planners, investment gurus and mega-advisers talk about investing for the proverbial long-term. After a “lost decade,” we see people redefining long-term investing, but I digress. The point is, history seems to favor dividend growth. And if you stick with dividend growers over the bulk of your life span… perhaps, 30-40 more years… you may [...] Continue Reading...
I rarely miss an opportunity to peruse ETF flow data. Typically, though, I see the information as identifying money that will be late to the performance-chasing party. On the other hand, the March fund flow data may be telling us something unique. For one thing, in spite of a strengthening U.S. dollar in March, investors snapped up shares of [...] Continue Reading...
When one thinks of Columbia, one typically thinks of coffee. It’s hard not to think of coffee. Yet these days, Latin America is becoming a powerhouse in more ways than one. Columbia has other commodities and natural resources. And in spite of obvious debt concerns, some folks believe Columbia may be as profitable as Brazil or Chile. Despite Growing Debt, 5 Reasons to Like [...] Continue Reading...
Mr. Market is always looking ahead. He’s not particularly interested in Q1 GDP… the assumption is that the economy grew at 3% or better. He’s not even concerning himself with Q1 earnings results… the expectation is that most corporations will handily exceed top-line revenue and bottom-line profit projections. So what is Mr. Market wondering about these days? He’ll be looking for [...] Continue Reading...
Q1 Sector ETF Performance, Momentum ETFs, Financial ETFs, Industrial ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 4-11-10 Continue Reading...
