It’s time to look back to the best and the worst of 2014. Here, we’ll do a quick recap of the ETFs that rocked and flopped this year with the ups and downs in the global economy and resulting flow and ebb in the investing world. It’s important to start off by saying that the…
The U.S. Daily Cash Deficit for Wednesday 12/31/2014 was $3.0bn bringing the December Surplus to $14bn and the full year 2014 deficit to $607bn…a $102bn improvement over 2013’s $709bn cash deficit. I’ll have more next week, but for the year, revenues were up 5.2% and outlays were up 1.6%. 2014 was the 5th straight year of deficit…
We’ll have new specific ideas coming soon, but the basic themes for investors remain consistent. Entering 2015, there are several key ideas for individual investors to keep in mind. Republicans will formally take control of both the House and the Senate in a few short days – resist the temptation to wax political. Instead, think about…
by George Cook, The Conversation Department stores and other brick-and-mortar retailers registered another lackluster holiday shopping season, while online sales have remained upbeat since Cyber Monday. As more consumers spend a larger share of their dollars online, does this signal the days of shopping at department stores and shopping malls are numbered? Cyber Monday…
Starting on January 1, 2015, a one year-delayed component of Obamacare kicks in: according to the health care law, businesses that employ at least 100 full-time workers — or full-time equivalents, including part-time workers — must offer health benefits to at least 70% of those working at least 30 hours a week by Thursday, or…
Over the years, studies have consistently shown that investing in both domestic equities and foreign stocks reduces portfolio risk while enhancing returns. In addition, the primacy of the U.S. equity markets has greatly diminished with its share of the global stock market capitalization declining steadily. This is why investors can no longer limit themselves to…
2015 started with a fresh US dollar rally, as the DXY dollar index jumped nearly a percent on Friday. The dollar strength and its consequences will be a key theme for the economy and markets this year. Source: barchart One of the consequences of course is continuing pressure on commodities markets, as Brent crude…
The two big stories of 2014 were the crash in oil prices and the decline in US interest rates. Both were opposite of consensus expectations. The S&P 500 charged ahead for a 14% gain, but West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil crashed by nearly 46%; and US 10-yr Treasury interest rates declined by over 27% (from…
There’s an amusing pair of headlines back-to-back today on what a Greek exit from the Eurozone might mean. One view is catastrophic, the other is along the lines of no problem. Let’s start with the catastrophe. Economic historian Barry Eichengreen says Greek Euro Exit Would be ‘Lehman Brothers Squared. A decision by a new Greek…
Jan. 2 MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) announced today that it has agreed to acquire the stock of Pennsylvania-based High Pressure Equipment (HiP) company for $160 million. The acquisition of HiP is subject to customary regulatory review and Graco expects to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2015. In addition, Graco announced that it…
