I suppose it’s easy to look at gold and see only fear. It is, after all, the ultimate currency hedge. Therefore, if the price is rising there is probably a good chance fear over monetary considerations is, too. The opposite interpretation, then, would appear to be just as straightforward, but it’s often complicated by the…
The year 2017 has been quite impressive one for the biotech sector as evident from the 19.4% gain registered so far by the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (^. This is surely welcome news for investors since the industry suffered a decline of 19.2% last year. While drug pricing issue, competition and a slowdown in growth of…
The ETF industry has seen explosive growth in terms of both AUM and launches thanks to unique strategies, novel concepts, transparency, diversification benefits, enhanced tax competence, less turnover and low cost. In particular, investors seek to trade in ETFs that can easily be purchased and sold on the market, suggesting that the ETF should have…
Repeating Patterns and Positioning A noteworthy confluence of patterns in gold and gold stocks is in evidence this year. At the close of trading on December 26, the HUI Index has given a (tentative) buy signal by completing a unique chart pattern, which is why we decided to briefly discuss the situation. As usual, things…
2017 has been a banner year for the world’s richest individuals. Pumped by a tidal wave of central-bank driven liquidity and corporate buybacks, equity indexes around the world climbed to all-time highs this year – a phenomenon that has disproportionately benefited the world’s wealthiest, particularly the 500 individuals included in Bloomberg’s billionaires’ index. By the end…
All eight indexes on our world watch list have posted gains for 2017 through December 26. The top performer thus far is Hong Kong’s Hang Seng with a gain of 34.44%, followed by India’s BSE SENSEX at 27.88%. In third is our own S&P 500 with 19.81%. 2017 YTD Performance Here is an overlay of…
Since the beginning of 2017, global activity has strengthened, with support from domestic growth in advanced economies and China, along with improved performance in other large emerging market economies. Per the World Bank’s report published in June, global economic growth is projected to be 2.7% for 2017, up from 2.4% recorded in 2016. Moreover, the…
Over the Christmas break, there has been a lot of chatter about this great chart from 13d Research that has been labeled, “the most important chart in the world.” During the past thirty years, the US 10-year yield has been immersed in a steady decline, with brief run-ups that have coincided (caused?) financial market crises. The 1987…
2017 Earnings Were Led By Energy, Materials, and Tech At the beginning of the year, I expected 5%-7% earnings growth for 2017 based on the trend of earnings reports missing estimates. As we’ve discussed throughout the year, this year has been different from the past few because it has come close to meeting the initial…
Ripple is roaring, some 16% on the day and above $1.25. XRP/USD is now above the previous all-time high that was seen on Friday, just before the big crypto-crash. The high so far has been 1.2699, just under 1.27. The next line of resistance could await at $1.32. Ripple/USD stands out amid mixed movements in other…
