Both banking stocks and insurance stocks have done exceptionally well since they literally crashed in 2009. Not only were those sectors hit hardest, they were also suffering from continuously falling interest rates. As interest rates seem to have reached a rock solid bottom, both in the U.S. and recently also in Europe, banking and insurance…
Fundamental Forecast for Gold:Neutral Gold prices respond to critical support; post-FOMC rally under review Gold prices snapped a three-week losing streak with the precious metal up 0.44% to trade at 1253 ahead of the New York close on Friday. The advance comes on the heels of the FOMC policy meeting and amid continued strength risk markets with the all…
The Nasdaq Composite index has performed exceptionally well in the year so far by setting record highs for more than 60 times. The index first hit the 6,000 milestone on Apr 25, crossing the 5,000 mark after 17 years. The index has been up 27.4% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming Dow Jones Industrial Average…
Stocks rally this week right up to the edge of the expected move. This is why in every weekly update we analyze what the expected move of the market is. Watch this crucial weekend video market update to learn what to watch in the upcoming week.
Bitcoin is looking like it wants to explode higher again after trading in what counts as a “range” this week. Of course when you’re talking about Bitcoin “rangebound” means something completely different than it does with traditional assets. Specifically, the “range” this week was +/- about $2,000. But jokes aside, it’s broken out on Saturday and…
Fundamental Australian Dollar Forecast: Neutral The Australian Dollar got a boost from the general US Dollar weakness engendered by the Fed Then blockbuster local data helped the bulls cause even more This week won’t offer them similar opportunities however The Australian Dollar was borne aloft last week by updrafts foreign and domestic. It was helped by the general US Dollar…
Ten percent of corporations survive only because central banks have kept real interest rates negative. The BIS defines Zombie firms as those with a ratio of earnings before interest and taxes to interest expenses below one, with the firm aged 10 years or more. In simple terms, Zombies are those firms that could not survive…
Fosun Pharma (SHA: 600196; HK: 2196) obtained China rights to tenapanor, an Ardelyx (Nasdaq: ARDX) treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C), in a $125 million agreement (see story). Tenapanor is also expected to treat hyperphosphatemia related to chronic kidney disease. Ardelyx, a San Francisco area company, has completed US Phase III trials in which tenapanor met efficacy endpoints in both…
In last week’s “Technically Speaking” post I discussed the S&P 500 hitting 2700 by Christmas. To wit: “As stated in the title, the current push higher puts 2700 in sight by the time Santa fills the ‘stockings hung by the chimney with care.’ As shown below, price momentum triggered a short-term “buy” signal following Thanksgiving, and…
The yield curve is not inverted, and it wouldn’t matter if it were Some people are needlessly worrying about the yield curve inverting and signaling a recession. The economy is showing more vigor — according to the Atlanta Fed model, leading indicators predict a 3.5% fourth-quarter growth. That’s remarkable following second- and third-quarter growth at or above…
