There are roughly 1400 exchange-traded vehicles on the U.S. exchanges. And yet, only a small fraction of them (about 5%) can lay claim to $1 billion in assets under management. These 70-75 influencers often explain the direction of stock, bond, currency and commodity markets. In fact, there have been times when a single asset defines the entire investing landscape. For example, PowerShares DB [...] Continue Reading...
Financial stocks rocketed ahead in the first quarter and Bank of America (BAC) recently received a high-profile upgrade. So why is the SPDR Select Sector Financials Fund (XLF) one of the worst performers over the last 5 days? Aluminum giant, Alcoa, surprised Wall Street with its stronger-than anticipated earnings report. So why is the SPDR Select Sector [...] Continue Reading...
Month-over-month, most sector investments have provided investors with ample capital appreciation. Country ETFs with ties to technology, energy and infrastructure have all performed admirably. Yet there are a variety of areas of weakness that cannot be disregarded as inconsequential. For instance, in my February commentary on underachievement in the transportation arena, I highlighted the concerns with the Dow Industrials Average [...] Continue Reading...
One of the few good reasons to pay attention to mainstream financial media? If you’re looking to sell what they are buying. Otherwise, you might as well flip a coin on whether a fast trading prognosticator will get it right or get it wrong. That said, it’s nearly impossible to sift through commentary on the web without coming [...] Continue Reading...
Analysts have already lowered 2012 profit estimates for the S&P 500 from the 9% range down to the 6% range. Granted, profits may still be rising. But what could happen to stock prices when profits are climbing at a slower pace? And what happens if the manufacturers who are producing at a slower pace ultimately find themselves shipping less goods? In Dow Theory, [...] Continue Reading...
Stock assets are at a collective crossroads. The reasons to go higher? Federal Reserve determination to force investors as well as corporations out of cash with their zero-percent rates AND a 7%-plus earnings yield (E/P) for the S&P 500. According to Bloomberg, the spread between the earnings yield and the 2% offered by the 10-year Treasury bond is the [...] Continue Reading...
Back in 2009, a flood of easy money worldwide sparked super-sized gains for the emerging markets… more so than their developed world counterparts. Granted, stock assets for industrialized and developing regions were both remarkable. Yet the best investment profits involved commodities, materials and rapid-fire economies with the most “stuff.” By mid-2010, the industrializing world found itself tightening fiscal and monetary policies to curtail runaway [...] 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...
Copper is one of the world’s most popular metals. It is used in everything from water pipes to radiators to air conditioning systems. Some will say that the industrial metal posesses a Ph.D. in economics… it is that critical to world GDP growth. One country alone is responsible for about 40% of the world’s copper reserves and roughly 35% of copper [...] 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...
