Opinions

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Market Volatility Index—better known as the “VIX” or even the “fear gauge”—sits just above 14. That means investors are continuing to ignore stock market risks and, in the process, are actually assuming even more risk. All you have to do to see how much

Two important banks just reported very solid numbers. That’s important because the financials are a very significant stock market sector that contributes tremendously to investor sentiment and the overall tone for trading action in the capital markets. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) beat the Street with a 19% gain in

The current market action will soon turn to selling. I’ve come to that conclusion because what the current stock market is doing is really not normal, and a correction will certainly come. I’m not saying the end is near. In fact, I feel there are more gains to come, but

I told you so. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the Chinese economy grew at an annual pace of 7.5% in the second quarter of this year from a year earlier—down from 7.7% in the first quarter. (Source: Bloomberg, July 15, 2013.) Regular readers of Profit Confidential shouldn’t be

You can relax. Contrary to what you might have heard, the Federal Reserve is not going to stop printing money anytime soon. The market showed some relief last week after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes indicated that the central bank wants to make sure the economy and

Over the last few days, the level of confusion regarding monetary policy by the Federal Reserve has increased substantially. The result has been that buyers have re-emerged in the gold market. First there was the release of the minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve on June 18-19.

The big news for the stock market this week was the lackluster results from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE/AA)—normally a decent barometer of global industrial activity. But what’s interesting is that the stock market rallied on the results. That goes against conventional wisdom. Actually, Alcoa beat estimates on revenues and earnings—but just

The time to act is close at hand. As long-time readers of my pages are aware, one of my primary concerns about the current economy has been the complacency of investor sentiment. If you look back to any period just prior to a significant market correction, what you will usually

When it comes to petro-dollars, North Dakota isn’t the first place you might think of—but soon it will be. The aggressive efforts to develop shale oil have turned North Dakota into one of the top states for growth and employment nationwide. Since oil first started to be processed from shale

The spot price of oil is worth keeping a sharp eye on. With West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil having jumped past $105.00 a barrel, oil stocks are moving again. Geopolitical tensions certainly have added a bit of a premium to oil prices, but there’s been resilience in spot well over

Did the Federal Reserve just tell us it wants much higher inflation? In the most recent meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), it said: “Most [members], however, now anticipated that the Committee would not sell agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) as part of the normalization process, although some

One fact has become quite clear: if we want to see robust growth in our gross domestic product (GDP), then there needs to be a significant change in consumer spending. But current consumer spending in the U.S. economy is looking bleak, and it makes me skeptical about the GDP growth

As many of you know, I’m a big supporter of equities as an investment over the long run, especially with small-cap stocks. But I’m also pragmatic and feel you should always look to take some money off the table—especially after such strong advances in the stock market as we saw

The mainstream media continues to report that the housing market in the U.S. economy is hot again, but I don’t share their optimism for a second. The fact of the matter is that the U.S. housing market may be headed toward a period of decline after just a few months

One company that I use as a benchmark stock in manufacturing is Fastenal Company (FAST). The Street is looking for just a 6.5% gain in quarterly revenues and a three-penny improvement in comparable earnings. The company reports today. Many corporations have reported similar guidance. Among many investors, there is little

The Dow Jones Transportation Average has been powering ahead since the last week of June. It’s risen five percent since, and the percentage gains on up days are handily beating other stock market indices. That’s a very powerful signal indicating the appetite that institutional investors have to be buyers. Powering

I am watching the Chinese economy very closely, because any economic slowdown there could have an adverse effect on the already struggling U.S. economy. And here’s what I’ve seen: the stock advisors are not mentioning how critical the Chinese economy really is, how companies based here in the U.S. can

Quantitative easing was supposed to bring economic growth to the U.S. economy, but it is failing at its job. Just look at the chart below to see how badly things have turned out. The chart shows the velocity of money in the U.S. economy. For the uninitiated, velocity is a

The battle in the video streaming market is on, and based on recent developments, it will intensify, which ultimately is better for the consumer. As my stock analysis indicates, now is the time to take advantage. No longer is Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ/NFLX) safe as the current market leader, but the

While the gold bullion naysayers keep their bearish view, the fundamentals for the precious metal continue to gain strength. We have seen a significant amount of selling in the gold bullion market. But consider this: according to data compiled by Bloomberg, gold bullion holdings in global exchange-traded products (ETPs) have