In part 1 we noted the gaps to start 2015 that were likely to fill, and in part 2 we updated the progress. Part 3 will close the series because there are no more gaps. All are filled and now the market’s job is to prove it can use this process as support. Lower lows…
A number of questions have come in since year-end asking what would happen since the Dow did not reach the 18,500 level. We also warned that the support was really down at the 16,978 level and we need a daily closing beneath this level to signal a sustainable decline for now. The main bank…
During 2014 all of our portfolios lagged the market. Most of them by a significant margin. You’d think this would concern me, but it doesn’t. The purpose of a hedge is to position a portfolio for more than one outcome when market conditions are uncertain.This means a hedged portfolio will not track the market…by design….
‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so the fool repeats their folly.’ – Proverbs 26:11 And about every seven or eight years it seems, in the modern economic discipline of bubblenometry. What hath the Fed wrought, and the crony accomplices to Wall Street in the Administration and Congress? Back to the brink, again. Crouching…
Running length 00:02:01
Farming and agricultural equipment had a tough 2014. A sharp decline in prices of grains, including corn, soybean and wheat led to a fall in earnings of farmers. This in turn led to a fall in demand for agricultural equipment. This segment continues to face headwinds in 2015, but the outlook may not be grim…
Upper left chart highlights times when the SPX was down the first 3-days of the year and full year returns. As you can see, year-end results were mixed. Upper right chart highlights times when the SPX was down the first three days of a near year, looking back 50-years. It only happened once, which…
Financial professionals are blaming the latest round of risk asset uncertainty on a variety of factors, from the continuing sell-off in oil to the possibility of Greece being kicked out of the euro-zone. Still others are pointing to anxiety over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s intention to raise its overnight lending rate target in mid-2015 –…
MidWest One (MOFG) is our hot stock of the week and earns an Attractive rating. MidWest One, a smaller regional banking institution, had its ups and downs during 2014. The stock ended the year up only 3%, but was up 23% from its October lows. For many reasons, we feel MidWest One could be poised…
The last two months have not been kind to clean energy stocks. Most commentators attribute the weakness to declining oil prices and the Republicans’ strong showing in the midterm elections. Whatever the cause, my 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2014 model portfolio was dragged into a loss for the year where it had previously looked to return…
