Several months ago in November 2017 General Electric stock (GE) was trading at about $18 per share. I wrote an article at the time warning investors that it was likely for GE to continue falling to new lows before it found a bottom. Fast forward to the end of March and the stock has indeed fallen to less…
ArcelorMittal SA (ADR)’s (NYSE: MT) most recent return on equity was an above average 12.5% in comparison to the Materials sector which returned 6.1%. Though ArcelorMittal’s performance over the past twelve months is impressive, it’s useful to understand how the company achieved its healthy ROE. Was it a result of profit margins, operating efficiency or maybe…
With the first quarter of 2018 now behind us, below is a full rundown of asset class performance during the quarter. For each ETF in the matrix, we also include its performance in March as well as since the 1/26 high for the S&P 500. As shown, the S&P 500 (SPY), Dow 30 (DIA), and…
The so-called “chicken war” of the 1960s continues to illustrate the peculiar rationality of protectionism and collective choices. It was revealed earlier this week that the U.S. government and the government of South Korea had agreed to maintain a 25 percent tariff on South Korean light trucks (pickups and vans) that was originally part of the “chicken…
Basketball did not have a lock on March Madness last month. Markets were stuck in their own purgatory after the volatile month of February. Action may have seemed calmer than in February, but there was much more angst following sharp moves up in the VIX, which we can see in the monthly charts. Let’s take…
The dollar is slightly higher against the Japanese Yen following disappointing economic data from the country. Yesterday, we received the Tankan Large Manufacturers and Non-Manufacturers Index which missed the consensus estimates. The Manufacturers Index remained unchanged at 23, a point lower than what analysts were estimating. Similarly, the Non-Manufacturers index was unchanged at 23. This…
Five out of the twelve Federal Reserve Regional Districts currently publish monthly data on regional manufacturing: Dallas, Kansas City, New York, Richmond, and Philadelphia. Regional manufacturing surveys are a measure of local economic health and are used as a representative for the larger national manufacturing health. They have been used as a signal for business uncertainty and…
February and March wrought technical damage on major US equity indices, but the path of least resistance increasingly looks up near-term. March-quarter earnings season is upon us. This is the first quarter US companies will be reporting after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was signed into law on December 22 last year….
“The Bank of Canada maintained its target overnight rate at 1 1/4%… Global growth remains solid and broad-based. In the United states, new government spending and previously-announced tax cuts are anticipated to boost growth in 2018 and 2019. However, trade policy developments are an important and growing source of uncertainty for the global and Canadian…
1 Year Left To Brexit Brexit negotiations have dominated the UK’s economic landscape over the last two years, beginning with the initial referendum in 2016 and then the triggering of exit talks last year. However, with only a year to go until the UK is set to officially depart from the EU, focus on the issue is…
