Should the federal government be spending billions of dollars to pump up Wal-Mart’s profits? I know that question sounds really bizarre, but unfortunately this is essentially what is happening. Because Wal-Mart does not pay them enough money, hundreds of thousands of Wal-Mart employees enroll in Medicaid, food stamps and other social welfare programs. Even though…
Last week was a fairly typical Christmas holiday-split week, marked by weak volume before and after the day off, and a slight gain on par with the beginning of an average Santa Claus rally (not to mention the tepid bullishness in front of the Christmas break). Though the trend was up more or less, take last…
The EUR/USD pair fell during the session on Friday as per usual, but as you can see did and make a fresh, new low. That being the case, the market looks as if it’s ready to continue to go lower but doesn’t quite have enough momentum yet. That doesn’t mean that it won’t though, because after all…
The Trading Money Center New York bankers did a brilliant sales job on policymakers, central bankers, and economists that the way to stabilize the world economy was to securitize everything. This combined with what they called the “Originate and Distribute Model” would lead to the promised-land in finance. Indeed, financial intermediation has changed dramatically over the last…
Follow the money is a good start–but what matters going forward is income, and most especially, net income and disposable income. Debt is important, money/capital flow is important, but when push comes to shove, all that matters is having net income/disposable income: to service debts, to invest, to spend. Debt can be substituted for income, but not for…
We identify six key issues for investors in the holiday-shortened week ahead. 1. The recent string of US economic data showed not only an upward revision in Q3 GDP to 5%, but also strong consumption data, rising confidence and continued improvement in the labor market (weekly initial jobless claims). This has reinforced market expectations for the…
Top scoring weekly returns: Buy and Hold 1 Year The top scoring sector across our 1,600 stock universe is utilities. Financials, healthcare, services, consumer goods, and technology score above average. Industrial goods score in line. Basics score below average. Large cap managers should concentrate on healthcare, financials, and services. Across mid cap, focus on utilities,…
Francesca’s Holdings Corporation (FRAN – Snapshot Report) has a new CEO but comparable-store-sales continue to slide. Can this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) retailer turn it around? Francesca’s Holdings is a specialty woman’s retailer, operating 538 boutiques in 47 states and the District of Columbia carrying apparel, shoes, jewelry and accessories. It also operates an ecommerce site on…
Here are my forecasts for upcoming economic data.
