Monthly Archives: January 2015

EC ETFs For Th

The crises of yesteryear almost seem quaint. Did investors really need to fret the possibility of the world’s 44th economy (Greece) exiting the euro-zone back in 2011? The stock market ultimately prevailed. Why did the fiscal cliff, sequestration and government shutdown concerns cause so much anxiety in 2012? U.S. stocks eventually powered ahead by roughly…

Share Market Brief Assessment

The 2014 year-end closing in the Dow was strong, but not quite ready for liftoff. The failure to close above the 18500 level only keeps the Dow in a base-building position for what is to come. Only a closing below 16978 will signal a brief pause in trend. We will be addressing this in a…

Income Inequality Author Turns Down Prestigious Award; Can You So

French economist Thomas Piketty, author of the surprise best-selling Capital in the 21st Century turned down France’s top award, the Legion D’Honneur. “I do not think it is the government’s role to decide who is honourable”, said Piketty. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman called it “the most important economics book of the year – and maybe of…

China Higher?

China is to 2014 as Japan was to 1989 – – that is, the global savior of all things financial, including real estate. Here in the Bay Area, skyrocketing home prices (especially for trophy properties) are partially attributed to rich Chinese buyers looking for a safe (!) haven. There’s no way I’d buy into it,…

Another Shale-Bubble Bursts: Oil’s Plunge Is Not ‘Une

While Jim Cramer went “all-in on oil stocks” in May 2014 (right before the collapse), it was the fracking sand-providers that were the most-loved stocks on many individual investors buying lists last year… until their worlds caved in. As WSJ reports, for many sand producers, this is their first time on the bucking bronco that is the cyclical energy business—and…