Daily State of the Markets

All About Jobs (And "FANGs" and...)

Despite what appeared to be a pretty decent jobs report, stocks basically fell apart on Friday. So with Ms. Market once again confusing the masses, I thought it might be a good idea to try and make some sense of the action. In reality, there are three topics to discuss here: (1) t…

Understanding the Insanity

It was definitely another wild ride in the stock market yesterday as the DJIA first fell nearly 200 points on the back of weakness in oil and an economic report in the U.S. that clearly came in on the punk side. But by the time the closing bell rang the Dow's screen was green - to the tun…

Is It Time To Worry About The Banks?

From my perch, the question of the day really isn't really about oil, where the low in oil is, or when oil will embark on a real bounce. While it is quite clear that the correlation trade between stocks and crude is locked in the "on" position at this point in time, the bigger concern - a…

Let's Talk This Out...

With the DJIA having bounced a nice, neat 1,000 points off the January 12, 2015 low, the question of the day is if we've seen the bottom of the recent correction - or - if the current rally is simply the traditional oversold bounce that tends to accompany meaningful declines. Obvi…

Free Money Trumps Fear Every Time

Here we go again. Just when the bears thought that this time would be different, the global central bankers decided that it was time to hop back up on their white horses. It never gets old, does it? In an attempt to save the world from the evils of "market volatility," both the EC…

Investors May Be Asking The Wrong Question

I've been getting a lot of questions lately as to whether or not we are seeing the beginning of a bear market. Given that the S&P is down -8.2% year to date and that the mere thought of the last major bear market still causes investors to quake in their boots, the question is certainl…

So Bad That It's Good?

One of the hallmarks of stock market declines seen in what we call the "QE Era" has been the "V-Bottom." If one looks back at the declines seen since 2010, the vast majority of the corrections have traced out a "V" pattern on a chart as the emotional pullbacks have generally been met with…

Watching The Action (And What To Do Now)

Over the years I've learned that it is usually not a good idea to read too much into any single session of Ms. Market's game. In other words, rarely does a single day make - or break - a trend. However, I have to say that Thursday's much ballyhooed bounce, which was expected to be a thing…

Look For A Bounce, But Beware Of...

Well that was interesting. One minute the sky was falling with the Dow down more than 550 points and the S&P 500 having broken an important line in the sand. And the next, well, pundits were falling all over themselves trying to be get on record calling the bottom. Such is life in the…

The Message Is...

Good morning. While there isn't always a "message" to be gleaned from the stock market action, there are times when you can get a hint about what is happening in Ms. Market's game by studying how and why things unfold at the corner of Broad and Wall. So, let's run down yesterday's action …