Is it the never-ending, “New Normal” correction? Or is it the beginning of the bear’s salmon dinner? Ironically, the financial media have decided that there are only two choices — a “new normal” or a bear market. There’s no room for bullishness in the hot August heat. Trailing P/E ratios, forward P/E ratios… does it even matter how [...] Continue Reading...
Money has been flowing out of stock assets at a steady pace. Macroeconomic data has been decidedly weak. And unless you hopped aboard the gravy “grains” this past week, a Great White took a bite out of your portfolio. (Or maybe a brown bear is responsible for the mauling. I don’t think it was a brown bear, though. So let’s [...] Continue Reading...
U.S. stocks had a blockbuster month, as the S&P 500 garnered roughly 7.2%. However, the overwhelming majority of the benchmark’s gains came in the first 3 weeks; the index was effectively flat over the last trading week in July. Fundamentally, a bullish perspective makes the most sense over the intermediate term. As many as 78% of S&P 500 corporations have exceded earnings [...] Continue Reading...
What if determining stock market direction was as simple as wetting your finger in the outdoors and holding it up to the sky? A cool breeze telling you if the wind was coming out of the northwest? Not surprisingly, it has never been quite that easy. While we have trendlines that we base on moving averages — 50-day, 100-day, 200-day [...] Continue Reading...
Why are so many financial articles attributing the 2.25% jump in equities to upbeat earnings reports? Honestly… it’s not like upside surprises haven’t been running at 3 out of 4 from the get-go. It’s not like 3M, AT&T or UPS presented game-changing insight into corporate America’s stellar profitability and respectable sales. Sure, some of the market gains are attributable to earnings [...] Continue Reading...
Since the end of the 2nd quarter in June, The MSCI World Index is up roughly 5%. That’s not a bad start to the second half of the year for world stocks, in spite of the U.S. hitting new lows in the first week of July. Yet more noticeably, scores of foreign stock ETFs reached correction [...] Continue Reading...
I can’t deny that it is practical to have exposure to both developed world and developing world stock assets. Nevertheless, here are 5 solid reasons to consider Chile before considering more exposure to the U.S.: 1. Creditor Vs. Debtor. Chile was once an impoverished debtor nation. Today, it’s a creditor country through sensible management of its commodity wealth; [...] Continue Reading...
Here on July 8, 2010, stock assets in the U.S. are looking to trumpet a third straight day of gains. Yet corporate earnings guidance for the remainder of the year will determine whether or not the ultimate developed world market can maintain upward momentum. The knock on developed world stocks isn’t that they aren’t cheap. It’s that [...] Continue Reading...
On the surface, the last Monday in June has been no different than the other trading days in the first half of 2010. Investors have been dumping energy and materials ETFs; what’s more, they’ve been getting rid of country ETFs that depend heavily on the energy or materials sectors. Sector ETFs In The First Half Of 2010 [...] Continue Reading...
U.S. markets initially soared on the news that China would allow its currency to appreciate against world currencies. Yet the countries that will benefit the most from a yuan reevaluation are the neighbors throughout Asia. Erroneously, there are folks who believe that China is bowing to developed world pressure prior to the G-20 summit. Anyone who has spent enough [...] Continue Reading...
