Is that a bell I hear? The pundits are out in full force. Negative news abounds. Jobless claims have now risen to the level of last November. Those two awful words “double-dip” are now more famous than Dairy Queen could [...]
Was it really a surprise that the US Federal Reserve decided to pursue a course of greater easing of monetary supply at its meeting last week? The market certainly was caught by surprise, which in itself is surprising considering that [...]
That is a question that has been floating around for a few weeks now. Are we headed for the same type of deflationary cycle that has gripped Japan for more than 20 years now? I certainly hope not and I [...]
Slow Growth Ahead…Let’s Hope So! GDP numbers came in last week. Growth was slower than expected at 2.4%. Nothing to write home about but not surprising if you have been reading this column of late. In fact, I don’t even [...]
Rumor has it that the economy is slowing down. It must be just a rumor since the market went on a tear the week before last. In these very pages I wrote that a recovery is not possible without two [...]
Intel-ligence Intel (INTC-NASDAQ) reported very strong numbers last week, and gave even better guidance than expected. The shares rallied early then ended the day with a whimper. Still, the news was better than expected and that gives the bulls hope [...]
The world’s problems disappeared, magically and overnight. Last week we saw three major rallies. The first was in the S&P 500; the second in the Volatility Indicator (VIX), and the third was in the Euro. It was the latter that [...]
True Religion The markets are about to find religion again. That’s not news to you. I’ve been warning as recently as last week that we are headed lower, maybe much lower. The economic situation in the US is one that [...]
Muhammad Ali made the rope-a-dope famous in his fight against George Foreman. It worked like this: Ali, knowing he was outmatched in the strength department by Foreman would lay back on the ropes, letting Foreman pummel him with punches. Each [...]
Last week retail bell-weather Best Buy (BBY-NYSE) reported disappointing earnings. As the CEO Brian Dunn put it “store traffic is “choppy,” adding that “consumer spending is episodic … It appears that customers are operating on cues from the broader environment.” [...]