Daily State of the Markets
Which Matters More: Yellen or Earnings/Econ Data?
The big event of Tuesday was Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee. No one really expected Ms. Yellen to break any new ground with her prepared testimony. So the key for traders was to listen to the tone of t…
Can Earnings Season Carry the Bulls to Higher Ground?
After more than a week of very little in the way of news to work with, traders are being bombarded with inputs this morning.
In Europe, the all-important ZEW economic surveys showed that the outlook for the economies of Germany and the Eurozone con…
Has the European Debt Crisis Returned?
Anyone coming into Thursday morning looking for a sleepy summer session was in for a rude awakening as S&P futures were down hard three hours before the opening bell. For example, as my 6 screens flickered on at 5:15 am Thursday, I began perusing my news feeds. Then I saw the futures …
They're Baaaaack! (Worries About European Banks, That Is)
It's been a while, but worries about the state of Europe's banking industry are back in a big way this morning. Specifically, concerns about the health of Portugal's largest listed bank are causing a rout of 1% or more across Europe. Banco Espirito Santo, …
Quick Take: Watch the 'Momentum Meltdown' Names
Today's market action is likely to focus on the upcoming earnings season as Alcoa kicks off the parade of numbers after the close. However, keep in mind that the real flow of company reports doesn't start until next week. In overnight news, there continues…
Will the Market Be Bullied By the Fed?
While the vast majority of investors probably don't have the time nor the interest in watching the stock market on a minute-by-minute basis, one can learn an awful lot about what is actually driving prices by doing so.
Granted, it isn't important to watch every tick, every moment …
Has The Much Ballyhooed Correction Begun?
While the situation in Iraq continues to intensify on both the political and military fronts, yesterday's out-of-the-blue decline in the stock market took many investors by surprise. The retreat in prices ended a string of relatively weak advances and has a lot of folks once again calling…
Is Sentiment Flashing A Warning To Investors?
To be sure, correctly analyzing investor sentiment and then acting accordingly in one's portfolio can be challenging over the long-term. Everybody knows to be wary of the crowd when everyone sees the same thing and/or everyone is expecting the same thing to happen in a given market. Yet a…
2014: Macro Crowd Getting It Wrong, Again
So, are we having fun yet in this year's stock market? If you followed the crowd's "consensus" view on what was supposed to happen this year, the answer is probably a resounding "No!"
For those keeping score at home, this is the second consecutive year in which the self-proclaimed…
Iraq is Back - Is It Time To Panic?
In case you've been out on the golf course, vacationing with the kids, or simply otherwise occupied, the situation in Iraq has become the primary focal point of the markets over the last few days. Thus, the question of the day is if geopolitics in Iraq will become the next "crisis" the st…