Finance

The Philly Fed ADS Business Conditions Index

Note from dshort: I’ve updated my periodic look at the Philly Fed ADS Index through yesterday’s release, which included the latest Initial Jobless Claims (for the week ending March 14th). The Philly Fed’s Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index (hereafter the ADS index) is a fascinating but relatively little known real-time indicator of business conditions for the…

Morning Call For March 20, 2015

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 +0.32%) this morning are up and European stocks are up +0.31% as Greek default concerns eased after Greek Prime Minister Tsipras said he was “more optimistic” after deliberations with EU leaders in Brussels. That fueled gains in Greek government bonds and the Greek 10-year bond yield fell back…

EC How To Spot

“A truly great business must have an enduring ‘moat’ that protects excellent returns on invested capital” -Warren Buffett My most successful and long-lasting investments have always come about when I’ve invested in a company with a strong and enduring “moat”. Buffett worked out long ago that a company that’s able to sustain high returns over…

Philly Fed Business Outlook: Modest Growth, A Bit Below Expectati

The Philly Fed’s Business Outlook Survey is a monthly report for the Third Federal Reserve District, covers eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. The latest gauge of General Activity came in at 5.0, essentially unchanged from last month’s 5.2 and the lowest reading since the -2.0 contraction in February of last year. The 3-month moving average…

Dollar Remains Strong After Fed Moves

The U.S. dollar may have weakened somewhat on Wednesday after Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s more-dovish-than-expected comments tempered expectations for a rate hike as early as June. But the greenback quickly recovered on Thursday as investors digested the news. The dollar index is up around 9 percent year to date after rising nearly 13 percent last…

Hate investing? Target-date funds are for you

If you watch financial advertising, you know that you should spend your days tracking your portfolio, trading frequently, and, well, tracking your portfolio. Oddly enough, many people find other things that they would rather do in life, such as reading a book, traveling the world, or sorting bolts in the garage. If you’re one of…