As we round the last lap before 2011, it’s a good time to take stock of what the year ahead might hold for investors. There are several cross currents and big regional divergences to consider, and there certainly is no unanimity of opinion on how things might play out. But there are changes in what [...]
Los Angeles job fair has applicants (Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS) The monthly report on employment, given out by the Labor Department, is the most important statistic of the month for the White House, the American household and the financial industry. The report released on Friday morning at 8:30 am didn’t disappoint–it is already a big event around the world’s markets–but [...]
As you give a prayer of thanks on this forthcoming American holiday, you ought not forget that nice stock market rally that has taken place this autumn. Only problem is, the gains might be gone before your turkey leftovers run out.
Most consumers are of two minds–they want to see the economy improve and they also want to see rock bottom prices (50% OFF) on the things they will be buying for the holidays. The contradiction is one most of us live with, and it’s one reason why retailers can’t seem to get traction.
It was hard to believe Thursday stock market rally because there was not much good news to support it. Yes, another shot of steroids from the Federal Reserve but that’s not the kind of thing that typically gets investors’ animal spirits stirring. But Friday’s Jobs report, that’s another matter. This report has hopeful signs aplenty. [...]
Investors, from big pension funds to IRA and 401K owners, look confused, which tells me that it’s either data (and data extrapolation) overload or we may be at an inflection point in the stock market.
The economy is in slow growth mode, consumers are paying down debt, jobless numbers remain high and trade frictions are mounting. That’s enough to keep anyone in the U.S. from feeling too good. Except for, perhaps, Ray Dalio, the founder and CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund firm.
World markets are practically giddy in their expectation for a new round of easing by the US Federal Reserve. As the Financial Times noted Thursday morning, “the FTSE All-World index is up 0.8 percent to its best level since September 2008. The benchmark has climbed 14% in six weeks–a period in which traders’ risk appetite has [...]
It’s an amazing part of this global economic anemia that investors large and small are finding the best balance of risk and return–and the most gusto– in emerging markets. Just a few years ago these markets were considered the frightening frontier (anyone remember the 1997 crisis?) but increasingly they are the place where hedge funds, retirees, and everyone [...]
When the stock market gives you a gift like a 7.7% monthly return it’s almost impolite to question the justification for such a rise. Well, let’s be impolite then. The stock market, in this case the Dow, has risen sharply over the past month most likely because the economy is muddling along, improving bit by bit, and the Federal Reserve [...]
