Introduction Any discussion on the appropriateness of any “investment” strategy should start with a discussion on the important differences between investing versus speculating. Although these are radically different concepts, it is all too common in finance jargon to ubiquitously reference all financial activity as investing, even when speculating would be the more precise term. I…
“With so many retail investors in China’s stock market, a collapse of share prices affects people’s savings, incomes and welfare. Many no doubt invested because they were confident in the government’s capacity to rescue the market. This may explain, in part, why Beijing intervened so quickly when the market plummeted. Still, while Beijing’s instinct to protect…
Weekly initial unemployment claims fell to the Lowest level Since 1973, perhaps distorted by auto retooling summer shutdowns, or lack thereof. The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week dropped to its lowest level in more than 41-1/2 years, suggesting the labor market maintained a sturdy pace of job growth in July….
In the early 1920s, George S. Clason wrote a series of articles about acquiring and keeping wealth that were passed out by insurance companies to their customers. In 1926, he combined these essays into a book titled, The Richest Man in Babylon. To this day, that book remains in print. In it, a series of…
If itsy bitsy pie slice – Greece (.33%) – can create this much worldwide economic havoc because of their unpayable level of debt, imagine what will happen when the truth is revealed about France (3.81%), Italy (2.88%), and Spain (1.88%). China’s (13.9%) entire economic model has been built upon debt and the world consuming their…
Shares of Cara Therapeutics (CARA) are up 25% after the company reported positive phase 2 results in patients with kidney failure. More specifically, Cara’s drug treats a condition these patients have, known as Uremic Pruritus, which causes severe itching that interferes with daily life activities. There are no currently approved FDA products to treat this…
It’s kind of like selling goods to consumers with very bad credit and then being surprised when they don’t pay. But before I get into that, we all know Greece owes Germany, the ECB, and the IMF a lot of money. Last week I explained that if they went the “Grexit” route, 75% of Greece’s…
For you stock-market buffs, here’s a blast from the past: “Plunge Protection Team.” You remember those guys? That’s the catchy nickname for a presidential group of officially sanctioned market manipulators who sprung out of Wall Street’s 1987 crash, and who have been pulling strings and pushing levers behind the scenes ever since to keep the…
3M Company (MMM – Analyst Report) reported record earnings of $2.02 per share for second-quarter 2015, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.99 and reflecting an increase of 5.8% year over year. Shares were trending downward in pre-market trading, as investors were likely disappointed by the weak revenue numbers. 3M Company – Earnings Surprise | FindTheBest Net income…
Echo bubbles aren’t followed by a third bubble. Speculative bubbles that burst are often followed by an echo bubble, as many participants continue to believe that the crash was only a temporary setback. The U.S. housing market is experiencing a classic echo bubble. Exhibit A is the Case-Shiller Housing Index for the San Francisco region, which has…
