Thursday, August 22, 2019
The stock market has been plenty volatile over the last couple weeks, but the real story has been what’s going on in the bond market. Many of the financial headlines you see are about the inverted yield curve or the parabolic move in US bonds. Let’s start with the inverted yield curve. What does that […]
Could interest rates soon be a thing of the past? It sure looks that way. A bank in Denmark recently announced it will offer the world’s first mortgage loan with a negative interest rate. In other words, the bank will pay you to borrow its money! Jyske Bank, which is the third-largest bank in Denmark, […]
Last Friday I spent the day at the San Francisco MoneyShow. I attend MoneyShows across the country as an invited speaker, giving presentations on income focused investing strategies. I also use these trips as an opportunity to talk one-on-one with some of the sharpest money managers and analysts in the investing world. A thought that […]
A recent accusation of accounting fraud from a hedge fund sent GE shares tumbling. However, institution are definitely siding with GE this time around. Several large covered calls trades were made last week after GE began to recover, including a trade involving 10,000 calls sold versus buying 1 million shares. Covered calls are moderately bullish […]
I feel like we have moved into a Dr. Strangelove type of financial world. The economic data shows that the U.S. economy is doing fine. We have growth in the economy, low unemployment, and rising wages. Home prices continue to increase. In contrast, on the financial markets side of the universe, traders are pushing bond […]
Why are investors so fixated on interest rates? If you follow the financial markets regularly, you’ll notice how laser-focused the investment community is on what the Federal Reserve is doing, how bond markets react, and what it all means for interest rates. But why are interest rates so important? What does a change of a […]
Looking at options block trades in iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) is a good way to see what may be in store for market volatility. A block of puts sold in VXX expiring in two weeks suggests that volatility may remain elevated for the short-term. It’s harvest time for option traders.That’s why […]
Over the last five years I have developed what I view as the core to The Dividend Hunter investing philosophy and strategy. My recommendations on how to build and manage an income focused stock portfolio is a very different path compared to from mainstream investment advice, which is concerned with entry prices, exit prices and […]
Investors have finally cracked under the pressure of the trade war with China. Stocks, which were at all-time highs just two weeks ago, are now 6% off those highs as of this writing. Although the S&P 500 is still up 13% year-to-date, Monday’s 3% drop set the alert level to red. Meanwhile, safe-haven investments like […]
The stock market got a nasty surprise on Monday. The Chinese government allowed their currency, the yuan, to sink below seven to the dollar (meaning higher than seven). The Chinese Fed, known as the PBOC, had been defending that level vigilantly for a long time. That’s over with, and it’s a big deal. Let me […]
