Monday, April 22, 2019
Much of the income stock universe will report 2019 first quarter results starting on April 28 and running through May 8. Last week there was a 4% to 5% sell-off of many income stocks. The drop was fueled by some negative Wall Street analyst comments that don’t seem to be well grounded in reality. For […]
Realizing you are wrong about a basic belief is tough. The last two weeks we discussed “The Bond Fund Risks Your Broker Won’t Tell You” and“Closed-End Bond Funds, Friend or Foe?” We concluded holding top-rated bonds is OK – individually, not in a publicly traded fund. Fund managers, chasing high returns, take risks I’m not comfortable with. […]
Whether or not it’s worth investing in IPOs always seems up for debate. It almost certainly varies from company to company. However, one thing that most investors agree on is that IPOs are interesting to talk about and can be fun to follow. After several mostly dull years on the IPO front, 2019 seems like […]
In our article, “Is Your Money Manager Really Listening?”, subscriber Rick G. reported a bad experience when his money manager invested in a closed-end bond fund: “…. He put me in several Closed-End Bond Funds (CEFs). He said they were good deals as they were selling at a discount to Net Asset Value (NAV). Upon further […]
It is nearly impossible to overstate how valuable options can be for traders. The benefits to using options for trading are numerous and straightforward. In many cases, the more traders get used to using options, the more they realize how beneficial they can be. For example, traders will often begin experimenting with options because of […]
Is the British government going to ignore the will of their citizens and not leave the EU? The EU’s immigration policies are sparking political backlash and citizens are taking to the streets. In January, Bloomberg reported, “Mario Draghi Sounds Economic Alarm for the Euro-Area”, citing persistence of geopolitical uncertainties. What in the world is going on? […]
While politicos like to call tax cuts “trickle-down economics”, the real culprit is socialism. The Robin Hood theory of “steal from the rich and give to the poor” sounds noble however, in practice it doesn’t work that way. The political class tax and spend for their benefit first, then some may trickle-down to the masses. […]
In terms of tracking market volatility, the VIX is far and away the most common measure for doing so. The S&P 500 option volatility index has been at the forefront of volatility indicators for well over a decade. Products based on the VIX also tend to dominate the volatility trading space. The VIX has finally […]
It’s always fascinating to watch how the market reacts to changes in volatility. It seems like the crowd is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s as if market volatility can’t ever trade at an equilibrium – it’s either too high or too low. When volatility is high, you get a fair amount […]
One of the most surprising elements of the stock market in 2019 is how little volatility there’s been so far. After all, 2018 – particularly the last 3 months – was about as volatile a year as you’ll see. There was no reason to think 2019 would be any different. Heading into the new year, […]
