Daily State of the Markets

Hold The Champagne, They're Just Getting Started

Stocks finished in the green for a third consecutive day on Monday as hope for a deal that would avert a debt default and reopen the government grew throughout the session. Things started off a bit on the rocky side however as the DJIA was down more than 100 points two minutes after the o…

Understanding The Gov't Crisis Play Book

The DJIA soared 323 points on Thursday and the S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day percentage gain since the first day of trading in 2013 (a move that coincidentally was also sponsored by Congress finding a way to avoid sending the economy into a depression). Although yesterday's move …

A Sell Signal Worth Paying Attention To

If the last fifteen years in the stock market has taught investors anything, it is that managing risk is a vital part of the game. Given that (a) the bear markets of 2000-02 and 2008-09 both produced declines in excess of 50 percent and (b) a loss of 50 percent requires a gain of 100 perc…

Ben Bernanke Can't Be Happy

Thought for the day: Ben Bernanke probably isn't too happy right about now. After rescuing the global banking system from the brink of collapse in 2008, after dealing with not one, not two, but three European debt crises over the past four years, and after surviving at least two r…

It's Getting Ugly Out There, Right?

Wow, it's really getting ugly out there. After Monday's 136 point decline on the DJIA, which just happened to be the eleventh losing session seen in the last thirteen for the venerable index, the popular press was ready to declare the corner Broad and Wall a disaster area. Although the Do…

The Administration Who Cried Wolf

Editor's Note: After a weekend of travels, Dave has asked friend and colleague Paul Schatz to fill in for him and provide commentary on the standoff in Washington this morning. With the exception of those directly affected and impacted by the government shutdown, …

Investors: Remember The Sequester!

It's that time again in Washington... The stakes are high. The clock is ticking down. The politicians are getting anxious. And the level of adjectives being espoused in and around the nation's capital is escalating rapidly. The President of the United States told CNBC yesterday af…

Remember, Do Nothing, Absolutely Nothing Until...

In case the action over the past few days hasn't made it clear, traders appear to be implementing an age-old Wall Street-ism right now... "Do nothing, absolutely nothing until there is something to do." Put another way, it looks like most investors have decided to sit on their hands until…

Traders: We Won't Get Fooled Again

With a fifth consecutive down day now in the books, which just happens to be the first such occurrence of the year, those coming to work dressed in their bear costumes were seen rejoicing Wednesday evening. Despite the fact that the S&P 500 is off less than 2 percent (-1.898% to be ex…

Does This Market Have Serious Issues?

Given that (a) stocks have fallen for four consecutive days and (b) there haven't been any clear-cut, obvious catalysts to the pullback, it is probably safe to say that there are "issues" at work behind the scenes. Granted, the decline over the past four days hasn't been severe (the S&…