There are three terms that are unfortunately often used interchangeably in the investing world. These are investment, speculation, and wealth preservation. While they have some basic elements in common, they are vastly different concepts in general and should not be confused. In this article we...
What Exactly is Bitcoin? Bitcoin refers to the now world-famous digital, or crypto-currency, which was only created back in 2009. It was originally developed by (as of yet still unknown) Satoshi Nakamoto, a genius computer programmer who laid out...
In a year of countless bank scandals that include LIBOR- and currency-rigging charges, the hits to the international banks' sullied reputations just kept on coming this past week. Now Deutsche Bank records divulged to prosecutors have revealed that the troubled German lender conspired with other...
32 Year low In Sterling US dollar exchange rate Improving Economic Data Post Brexit Vote Bank of England Willingness To Take Action With US stock prices at record highs and little room for further price growth in the immediate future given the hawkish outlook from...
The latest comments by Federal Reserve Chair Ms. Yellen have given the US dollar a boost and spooked the Bond market. Yellen made a speech at Harvard on Friday morning, and the market read her statements as being conclusive to more hikes during 2016. It...
13F filings show that Warren Buffett has been selling some holdings from his equity portfolio during the first quarter of 2016. That might not seem anything particular, but when you consider this investor’s motto is “Our holding period is forever” then it takes new light....
Puerto Rico has been in a period of economic stagnation that goes back decades. Along with the decline in GDP, it has also been losing citizens to the mainland, a trend that is causing a decreasing population. High government spending and low economic activity are...
Strength of most recent rally subdued Not all stock market rallies are made the same. Some have incredible momentum, with average daily gains well above 1% and many single day gains above 3%. A strong upward move in a broad index indicates the strength of a...
Stocks have had an amazing rally since they bottomed out in March 2009 at 735. Over the next 6 years, the S&P 500 reached a new high in May 2015 at 2107, which represented an 186% increase from trough to peak. This sustained rally created...
Back on December 14, I argued that various fundamental, technical and macro developments indicated that the stock market was set for a fall. Call it luck rather than skill, but the S&P 500 index slid roughly 200 points over the following two months, hitting a closing low for 2016 on...
There was a time when you might well have asked who cares if China’s debt load is excessive? But things have changed so much; China is now the second largest single economy in the world. As we saw last summer and at the beginning of...
Since hitting a low on January 20, the iPath Bloomberg Commodity Index Total Return ETN (DJP), a proxy for commodity markets as a whole, has risen by 10.6%. The rally has largely been powered by rising prices for oil and related energy products, precious metals,...
Based on recent reports, many investors believe the turbulence that impacted various markets earlier this year has come and gone. But that doesn't necessarily mean that sentiment is ripe--sufficiently complacent--for a broad range of negative fundamental and macroeconomic forces--discussed here, here and here--to reassert themselves.In...
The Stock market got off to a bumpy start to the beginning of the year amid concerns about global recession and fears of a hard landing for the Chinese economy. However, the past three weeks has seen the stock market rebound giving the impression that...
Last week's column, "Is the 'Crowd' too Bearish?" discussed whether excessive pessimism on Wall Street had set the stage for corrective countertrend moves in various markets. As of now, the question remains open. After a choppy week, equities and Treasury bond yields ended a tad higher,...
The economic recovery and mild expansion has been possible mostly thanks to the enormous amounts of money printed by the FED. The so called Quantitative Easing, which simply consists of printing new money and increasing government debt. Is QE a sustainable policy going forward? This has proven...
In light of recent market turbulence, one question investors might naturally be thinking about is how concerned should they be? Before answering, it is worth considering two things that old Wall Street hands try to keep in mind.The first is the fact that the investing "crowd" may not be...
Gold makes strong start to the year Gold has put on a great rally since the beginning of the year after having reached a most recent low at the beginning of December last year. Since its close on December 31st it has risen nearly 14%. That...
Gold has gained more than 15% to just over $1,200 an ounce since hitting multi-year lows in December. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) has fared even better, rallying roughly 40% over the span. The question now, of course, is what happens next.For the...
A number of fixed-income markets have been on a tear in recent weeks. Treasurys, for example, have rallied sharply, pushing yields lower across the board. So, too, have some municipal and higher-rated corporate bonds. Does that mean what I argued previously is wrong? Perhaps, but...
