There’s been a great deal of discussion about the NASDAQ’s ability to log an 11-year high this past week. What hasn’t been mentioned, however, is that the tech-heavy composite remains 42.5% below its 12-year high. In fact, the composite would need to pole vault 74% from the current 11-year peak to recover the losses incurred from the bursting of [...] Continue Reading...
In 2011, the S&P 500 began the year with remarkable fanfare. The benchmark raked in 2.4% in January alone. And yet, in 2012, the S&P 500 has been even more impressive, snagging an eye-popping 4.4%. The reasons for the risk-on gains may be easy to identify, from the notion that U.S. economic prospects are improving to the feeling that Europe will contain [...] Continue Reading...
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t too pleased that Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, a vessel that would have shipped crude from Alberta’s oil sands to the Gulf of Mexico. However, on Thursday, Harper described the exporting of Canadian energy as a “national priority” and pledged to fast-track regulatory approval. In contrast, U.S. natural gas producers are still hoping to get the “thumbs up”on natural gas [...] Continue Reading...
With the S&P 500 garnering 4.6% in less than 3 weeks, are money managers becoming skittish? If hundreds of millions flowing out of a few select ETFs is any indication, then the answer is, “Yes.” On 1/19/2012, institutional advisers used their block accounts to dump roughly $120 million of iShares Russell Top 200 Growth (IWY) and $80 million of [...] Continue Reading...
Approximately one month ago, Standard & Poor’s placed 15 European nations on review for potential credit downgrades. In spite of the implications, Italian bonds began to climb and their yields began to fall, as many were hopeful that an upcoming summit between European Union leaders might put an end to the region’s spreading debt crisis. Indeed, on [...] Continue Reading...
Popular emerging markets in the BRIC configuration – Brazil, Russia, India, China – suffered through severe bear markets in 2011. Yet far too many writers attribute the 20%-33% declines to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis alone. It is true that the debt mess sent the U.S. dollar higher at the expense of the ruble, “real,” and the rupee. Contagion containment has also damaged the prospects for emerging market [...] Continue Reading...
Motivational speakers frequently explain that the Chinese word for “crisis,” or “wei-ji,” represents a combination of “danger” (wei-xian) and “opportunity” (ji-hui). That said, how much opportunity can be found in crisis after catastrophe after calamity? For instance, the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) have been responsible for staggering levels of market volatility for 24 months. Time and again, one or more [...] Continue Reading...
The U.S economy has been faltering. Politicians have been blaming one another. And confidence is about as bad as it gets. However, what you read or hear in the media about recessions and economic progress will not explain the success or failure of stock assets. For example, Australia boasts a mere 5.3% unemployment, the highest interest rates among [...] Continue Reading...
Most believe that an agreed-upon plan for the Eurozone will not go far enough to increase economic growth in the region. And nearly everyone expects Greece to “officially” default. What’s more, if tighten-the-belt austerity doesn’t sit well with disenchanted Greek workers, how will it sit in the stomachs of 2-hour, lunch-breaking Italian employees? “Oh Gary,” you say, shaking your head. “Pray tell, sir, your reason for raising [...] Continue Reading...
If you’ve been a reader for years, you know that I regularly call out “perma-bull” or “perma-bear” thinking. I don’t believe that it is sensible to listen to a financial adviser who always sees the glass as half-full or follow someone who always sees the glass as half-empty. At the same time, I actively manage money for my clients — I am not [...] Continue Reading...
