Tuesday, October 22, 2024
You have likely seen the news that the S&P 500 has recovered 100% of the losses from the COVID crash. What you won’t see in the press is the broad range of returns from the different industrial sectors used by S&P Global Ratings (formerly Standard & Poor’s). The 500 S&P stocks are subdivided into 11 […]
A newly listed company is seeing a lot of unusual options activity. The company is Rocket Companies (RKT), which owns Rocket Mortgages and Quicken Loans. Despite not being around for very long (on the exchange), over 120,000 option contacts traded on one day last week. Most of the activity was on the call side, which […]
Casual investors will be aware of what happens in the stock market, but may not be as well informed about the current state of interest rates. Retirement plan experts recommend allocating a large portion of 401(k) accounts to bonds, and those building for retirement using their company 401(k) plans may not be aware of how […]
At the local convenience store, my wife Jo handed the clerk a $5 bill and waited for her change; finally asking for it. The clerk said, “We have a coin shortage. We have to round things to the nearest dollar.” Screw that! She dug in her purse, cobbled together the correct change and demanded the […]
Lost somewhat in the aftermath of the pandemic is that China and the U.S. are still in the midst of a trade war. It’s unlikely that there will be any sort of resolution until after the election, and even then, China/U.S. relations have a long way to go when it comes to trade issues. However, […]
The U.S. Economy Is Defying Expectations Since its March 23 low, the stock market has put on a rollicking rally. Of course, this is less of a rally and more of the market making up for lost ground from a punishing fall in February and March. Once the severity of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, […]
Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD) rallied above $30 a share, as gold spiked above $2,000. Helping, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought shares of Barrick Gold. “In the past, Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire, cautioned against investing in the metal because it’s not productive like a farm or a company. Now, gold miners are benefiting from […]
At the start of the pandemic-triggered economic crisis, a large portion of stocks in the high-yield sectors slashed or suspended dividend payments. For example, Hoya Capital Real Estate reports that 31 of 42 mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs) cut or suspended dividends from March through June. Other sectors, such as equity REITs, business development […]
There was quite a bit of unusual options activity last week in Macy’s. The physical department store chain hasn’t been on the radar for most investors in years. In fact, department stores in general were seemingly going the way of the dodo, especially when the pandemic hit. However, M shares got a boost in recent […]
With many people now working from home, the potential for cyberattacks has only increased. That’s where Zix Corporation (ZIXI) has come into play. Most recently, the company announced the release of its Advanced E-Mail Threat Protection program for the U.K. market. Using machine learning capabilities, the tool offers multi-layered filtering that safeguards corporate inboxes against […]
