The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that U.S. real GDP grew at a 2.3% annual rate in the second quarter. You can’t describe the new data as favorable, but I’m still hopeful about what comes next. U.S. real GDP growth at an annual rate, 1947:Q2-2015:Q2, historical average rate (3.1%), and average since 2009:Q3 (2.1%). GDP…
After 3 days of magical buying on no volume after heavy volume dumps, this seemed appropriate… “if you don’t buy the dip, then you are a f**ing idiot” First things first… Fed Funds Futures prices tumbled (implying a big shift higher in rates expectations)… Chinese stocks plunged overnight as no late-day rescue arrived… But more…
Diehards and Last-Ditch Campaigns TORONTO – “This is the worst I’ve seen in 30 years.” The scene was the recent Sprott-Stansberry Natural Resource Symposium in Vancouver. The subject was mining equities. And the opinion was becoming familiar … Golden pet rock as found in nature … the Camel Gold Nugget – 9,3 kg Photo credit:…
LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) released its second quarter earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting earnings of 55 cents per share on $712 million in revenue, a 33% year over year increase. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 30 cents per share and $679.8 million in revenue. Shares of LinkedIn soared in after-hours trades, climbing as much…
While the world can count dozens of important currencies, when it comes to top line financial and investment discussions, the currency marketplace really comes down to a one-on-one cage match between the two top contenders: the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. In recent years the contest has become a blowout, with the Dollar pummeling the…
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims The market was expecting the weekly initial unemployment claims at 270,000 to 275,000 (consensus 272,000) vs the 267,000 reported. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average moved from 278,500 (reported last week as 278,500) to…
This was a fairly lackluster day in US equities. Sentiment is now back to somewhat complacent as the VIX has fallen back to a 12 handle. I picked up a little VIX today. I may buy more if we see some additional fluff to the upside. This is probably not going to last, and is…
This was a fairly lackluster day in US equities. Sentiment is now back to somewhat complacent as the VIX has fallen back to a 12 handle. I picked up a little VIX today. I may buy more if we see some additional fluff to the upside. This is probably not going to last, and is…
Market Cap to GDP is a long-term valuation indicator that has become popular in recent years, thanks to Warren Buffett. Back in 2001 he remarked in a Fortune Magazine interview that “it is probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment.” The four valuation indicators we track in our monthly valuation overview offer a…
These days no matter what the Federal Reserve actually says, the markets respond like dogs sensing a piece of bacon coming their way. This is so for several reasons: 1) The world is vastly overleveraged, which terrifies investors and traders with even a modest historical perspective. The resulting insecurity makes them long for a higher…
