Saturday, October 20, 2018
Trading market volatility can very profitable because it tends to be more predictable than picking market direction. Yet, volatility trading can also be risky because of its tendency to make big moves on very short notice. Both February and October of 2018 are good examples of this scenario playing out. Still, one volatility behavior you […]
It seemed like we were in for a quiet October. The Fed made its expected rate increase and didn’t have any other surprises in its FOMC statement from September. There isn’t another FOMC meeting until November. Mid-term elections will certainly be big news but also aren’t until November. All the ingredients were there for an […]
Today I can fess up to a secret… Lou Betancourt, founder and president of Street Authority contacted me. I was flattered when someone as highly respected as Lou asked for permission to publish some of our articles. Street Authority has several subscription investment publications and a mailing list 100+ times bigger than our little publication. […]
2018 has been one of the more interesting years lately in terms of market volatility. We’ve had a chance to see both ends of the volatility spectrum – ultra-low volatility and a financial-crisis like spike in the VIX. It’s not often that both sides of the scale are in play in the same 12-month period. […]
October 2008 Bob and Ray were close friends; both retired and lived across the street from one another. One fateful morning, each took their coffee into the den, flipped on the computer and checked their brokerage account. As the data popped up, they both did a double take…. “What the heck is going on?” Overnight […]
Chuck Butler’s recent Dow Theory Letter article (behind paywall), “Central Bank Frustrations” was an eye-opener. Chuck removes any illusions about “trusting” central bankers. He quotes former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: “Given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader […]
Throughout U.S. corporate history, there have been some very memorable company founders such as JP Morgan and Henry Ford. Fast forward a few decades and we have Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. I suspect though that history will less kindly remember the current batch of founders including the likes of Travis Kalarick of Uber, John […]
Diogenes would have a tough time finding an honest man announcing corporate earnings. In my article, Pepsi-Cola Hits The Spot?, I outlined how Pepsi trumpeted sales and profit increases, yet both actually declined. Investors have a difficult challenge managing their life savings dealing with phony, deceptive data. Corporate America blares misleading headline numbers hoping to drive […]
Preferred stock shares are a hybrid security that provide attractive yields with a higher level of safety compared to common stock share dividends. Individual preferred stock issues are difficult to evaluate, so I recommend using an ETF to get preferred stock exposure in your portfolio. There is a new preferred focused ETF now available that […]
I was a senior, Sally was a freshman. We would hold hands and walk to the small lake on the other side of her family’s farm. The bank was angled, and we would lean back and stare at the distant sky and cloud formations. Sally (Name is changed but the story is real) was my […]
