Introduction The current oil and natural gas slump has decimated energy securities, some more than others, and have finally brought Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) down to a price where I am comfortable going long. I’ve said in the past that I will not be a buyer until CHK hits $4/share and now that they are trading…
Dividend aristocrats are companies in the S&P 500 Index that have increased their dividend payments for at least 25 consecutive years. We identified 10 of these high quality companies that offer investors a starting dividend yield of 3%. Some have paid dividends for more than 100 years. Not surprisingly, dividend aristocrats are mostly large cap,…
Many observers conclude OPEC is dead. Oh, its demise has been claimed before, but after the oil cartel failed to provide a quota (output goal) in last week’s statement, the claim has been given new life. The problem is that OPEC’s action under Saudi leadership may be perfectly rational for a cartel. Suppose you were playing Machiavelli…
It seems increasingly likely that the Federal Reserve will finally increase interest rates when it meets later this month, ending a near-zero rate policy that has been in force since December 2008. The fact that the world’s largest economy has needed seven years of accommodative monetary policy in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis…
After peaking at $51.52 in April 2011, silver has been on a precipitous slide to its current price of $14.61. The precious metal has had a poor run over the years except for January 1980 when it peaked at $107.89. Of course, these are inflation-adjusted figures, but they are important yardsticks to understand precisely how…
It’s not too often that you find a dividend aristocrat with a 3% dividend yield and 20% annual dividend growth over the past decade. Target (TGT) just so happens to be one of these stocks. The company has been in business for more than 100 years and will likely be around for the next 100…
USD/JPY: With price action remaining weak and vulnerable to the downside, USD/JPY eyes further downside pressure. This price development is coming on the back of its failed attempts on the upside. While the pair holds below its key resistance zone at 123.66/74 levels, further weakness is likely. On the downside, support comes in at the…
The oil price continues to slide to 7 year lows as markets fully digest OPEC’s decision on Friday to essentially drop production quota by retaining production at current levels. Noteworthy loser is Brent oil which has shed 9% of its value since the ECB meeting on Thursday. As a result, commodity currencies (CAD, NOK…
Video Length: 00:02:50 According to an investigation by the New York Times, half of all the money contributed so far to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates—$176 million—has come from just 158 families, along with the companies they own or control. Who are these people? They’re almost entirely white, rich, older and male—even though America is becoming…
Bernanke’s Helicopter Drop Reality Contrary to widespread popular belief, with special “thanks” to former Fed chair Ben Bernanke, central banks cannot hand out a “helicopter drop” of “free money”. What central banks do is cheapen the price of money by lowering interest rates to absurd levels, hoping that it will spur bank lending. Actual results speak…
