Opinions

Time and time again, we have key stock indices lure investors into bets they shouldn’t be taking. Examples of this are many, but to name a few of these instances: Black Tuesday, or often referred to as the Wall Street Crash of 1929; the Stock Market Crash in 1973; Black

The housing market has had a nice run up over the past several years, but the party is beginning to fade. Home prices continue to edge higher with a 12.8% jump in August, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index. While this seems positive, you also have to wonder

As most readers know, I have been calling for a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) program for some time. My worry has been that the current level of quantitative easing is not doing much to help Main Street, and it is building potentially dangerous risks to our

Twitter Inc. is the most highly anticipated company to debut its initial public offering (IPO) this year as it sells its story to the big institutional investors who are clamoring to buy shares. Of course, there will likely not be a lot of selling needed for its IPO, as the

Those interested in the oil business will know that smaller stocks in the sector have mostly been doing very well, even as the spot price of the commodity dropped below $100.00 a barrel. The run-up has been pronounced in a number of companies, likely in anticipation of third-quarter earnings. Oil

I harp on about this over and over again: economic growth is when the average consumer is optimistic about their future; they are spending money, they know they will have a job tomorrow, and they are saving. In the U.S., we are seeing the opposite of all this. In fact,

If you are a stock market investor, you’ve probably come to the same realization I have: the stock market is behaving irrationally. These days, the fundamentals don’t really matter. What’s even more frustrating is that when you do talk about the fundamentals behind the market’s continued advance missing, you are

These are some scary times for holders and chasers of some of the high-volume brand-name momentum stocks, especially in the Internet services area. (Just in time for Halloween…) While I always like to trade and follow the trend, I’m concerned with some of the superlative moves in the stock market

As evidence of the continued growth in three-dimensional (3D) printing machines, 3D Systems Corporation (DDD) out of Rock Hill, South Carolina reported very good financial results in its latest quarter. Investors went into the quarter with high expectations, and in spite of some difficulty in translating revenue to the bottom

Well, it looks like the Federal Reserve has more ammunition for its bond buying program to continue. Not only is there a lack of jobs across America, as I discussed in my previous article, but now it looks like the confidence level of consumers is fragile. According to the Conference

As someone who’s been involved in this business for many years, one thing that never surprises me is that people make the same mistakes over and over again. Taking a look at different sectors, it’s quite interesting to see how market sentiment has gotten so poor in one area but

With the slew of economic data being released this week, we’re obviously starting to get a better sense of where stocks could be heading over the next few weeks. Of course, the focus will be on the Federal Reserve meeting today, where it’s really a no-brainer that Federal Reserve Chairman

Whenever I’m asked what I think has the biggest potential impact not only on the stock market, but also on our way of life, I always point to the continued increase in government debt. Over the short term, the Federal Reserve has attempted to stimulate the economy partially by buying

According to the just-released annual Wells Fargo & Company Middle Class Retirement Study, about 60% of middle-class Americans say that getting monthly bills paid is their top concern. This number stood at 52% in the 2012 study. (Source: Wells Fargo & Company, October 23, 2013.) But there are more depressing

Hooray, gasoline prices at the pumps have declined to their lowest levels this year! Better yet, they’re looking to head even lower, as oil prices begin to unravel below $100.00 per barrel. The level of oil reserves jumped by 5.2 million barrels for the week ended October 18, according to

As more and more companies report, it’s apparent that quite a few are beating Wall Street consensus (usually either on revenues or earnings, rather than both), and it’s happening in industries where you want to see leadership. What Wall Street consensus actually becomes is typically a well-managed dance between sell-side

The stock market typically reacts quite positively when a company beats Wall Street consensus. But in a considerable number of cases, a company’s share price after-earnings bounce isn’t really warranted, considering the run-up in anticipation. Many stocks go up in value after beating expectations, but many numbers this quarter actually

The auto industry is back on its feet again, following some lean years during the recession in 2008 when General Motors Company (NYSE/GM) had to be saved by the government. And whether you agreed with General Motors (GM) being bailed out or not, the reality is that the company has

While the mainstream media and politicians are telling us the economy is improving…key economic indicators point to a global economy headed the wrong way. The Baltic Dry Index is an indicator of demand in the global economy. If the Baltic Dry Index is declining, it means the global demand for

While the stock market appears to want to move higher, we may be seeing a shift from high momentum growth stocks like Google Inc. (NASDAQ/GOOG) and priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ/PCLN)—which are both trading above $1,000 a share—to the more “boring” names. The gains made by the momentum stocks have been spectacular