For all the obfuscation surrounding the topic of stock buybacks and corporations returning record amounts of cash to their shareholders, the bottom line is as simple as it gets. This is what you are taught in CFO 101 class: if you see organic growth opportunities for your business, or if you want to maintain the…
Promises of additional monetary easing measures seem to arrive on a weekly basis, providing a boost to share prices globally as investors are encouraged to take on more risk. At the same time, we’re seeing increasing signs of a global slowdown. History has taught us that the “stock market is not the economy.” We are…
Next week will be a short trading week because of the US Thanksgiving holiday. Monday will be the last Comex option expiration for the year, for the December contract. We may wish to brace for shenanigans. We are reaching a more critical point in the markets, but do not, absolutely do not, expect this to…
About 10 months ago I wrote that I thought Apple was worth $114 to $128 per share (split adjusted). That day the stock closed at $72. Today it closed at $116, 60% higher. So this morning I sold it. Here’s why: Fundamentally, the company has gone from being very undervalued to fairly valued in a very short…
Are you in better shape financially than you were last Thanksgiving? If so, you should consider yourself to be very fortunate because most Americans are not. As you chow down on turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce this Thursday, please remember that there are millions of Americans that simply cannot afford to eat such a meal….
The global financial system has come unglued. Everywhere the real world evidence points to cooling growth, faltering investment, slowing trade, vast excess industrial capacity, peak private debt, public fiscal exhaustion, currency wars, intensified politico-military conflict and an unprecedented disconnect between debt-saturated real economies and irrationally exuberant financial markets. Yet overnight two central banks promised what amounts to more monetary heroin and, presto, the…
Written by Gary The DOW and SP500 both made new closing highs today as Mr. Market continues to push the averages higher. Volume tapered down after the market opening, but remained at low levels throughout the session. By 4 pm the averages closed after a relatively quiet afternoon session. Many investors are waiting for the other…
Written by Gary The DOW and SP500 both made new closing highs today as Mr. Market continues to push the averages higher. Volume tapered down after the market opening, but remained at low levels throughout the session. By 4 pm the averages closed after a relatively quiet afternoon session. Many investors are waiting for the other…
Next week will be a short holiday week with the Thanksgiving Holiday on Thursday, and ‘Black Friday’ the day after when everyone goes shopping for happiness and fulfillment. We will see the second estimate of Q3 GDP on Tuesday. The market is hitting a bit of a high note here, with record close after record…
Money Supply Growth Accelerates, Credit to Private Sector Still in Decline While money supply growth is slowing down in the US, it has recently continued to accelerate somewhat in the euro area. The effects of the ECB’s “QE”-type debt monetization activities in the form of covered bond and ABS purchases have not yet impacted aggregate…
