Can’t Make Money In Shipping

Well, I can’t, but maybe you are better at it. Before going on vacation I closed my Diana Containerships (DCIX) position with a huge loss of more than 60%.  When I bought it in March 2013, it looked like a reasonable investment. The world Economy was recovering, and trade, especially trade in finished goods, was…

Howard Hughes, Book Value & Oil?

I will note here that I did reach out to the folks at Saibus last week and did manage to have a conversation last Friday about their piece. I had hoped that some of the errors contained here would be corrected but they have not. Since I continue to get questions on it, I’m obliged to…

The Best Of The Best: Top 7 Dividend Aristocrats

Each of the 54 Dividend Aristocrats was ranked using The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing.  The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing take into account yield, valuation, growth, and volatility to determine the strongest dividend stocks to invest in without bias.  The Top 7 Dividend Aristocrats using The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing are: Wal-Mart ExxonMobil PepsiCo…

Structural Trends In Employment By Age Group

Note from dshort: I’ve updated this commentary with the latest numbers from last week’s Employment Report. The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is a simple computation: You take the Civilian Labor Force (people age 16 and over employed or seeking employment) and divide it by the Civilian Noninstitutional Population (those 16 and over not in the…

Economic Outlook 2015, Part 3: The Leading Indicators Suggest Gro

This is Part 3 of my 3-part review of The Conference Board’s economic indicators. Monday I reviewed the lagging indicators, confirming that 2014 has been the best year for economic growth since the financial crisis, although sluggish wage growth and rising consumer debt (aided by artificially low interest rates) presented some concerns. Yesterday I reviewed the coincident…

Dow Jones Update Dec 10, 2014

  The Dow did not elect any bearish reversals. During a breakout, the market typically falls back to retest the channel from which it broke-out. Any sustainable pause require a closing below 17235 for starters. A close below 17644 will suggest a move back into the upward channel. Nevertheless, the first hurdle remains in the…

Nyet!

Well, yesterday I falsely assumed oil might be nearing some kind of bottom. Nope! This is a bear market which has legs. One idea offered yesterday was to go long Russia as a countertrend play, but as oil continues to collapse, Russia is following right along (since, like Tesla, they’re kind of a one-trick pony).