Shopping List There hasn’t been a lot going on in the US lately. We’re in between quarterly earnings and stocks have seen little volatility. These are the times when you do your research and build a shopping list of companies to pick up/add to on the next pullback in the market. I’ve noticed that most…
Market Update: High Yields & The Disaster Formerly Known As Europe
I haven’t written in a few weeks now (partially because I’m a March Madness fanatic) so today’s post will cover two items that are on my mind this week. Leveraged Loans The leveraged loan market is all the craze, as covered in the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times earlier this month. For those unfamiliar,…
Mr. Bernanke & The Fed
Let’s take a look at the stock market since the Fed ended Operation Twist at the end of 2012 (where they were alternating short-dated bond sales and long-dated bond purchases every few days), and transitioned solely to purchases of bonds (in the amount of $85 billion per month). S&P 500 ETF (SPY ) – 9…
Sequestration and Economic Outlook
A client asked my thoughts on Sequestration and what I’m thinking/doing in both the short and long-term to prepare portfolios, so I figured I should throw my thoughts out there before tomorrow in case anyone else is wondering. Sequestration If it actually occurs, I’m actually a lot less concerned about the long-term investment implications now…
Currency Wars Are Brewin’…
We may be on the verge of some serious currency wars! I guess this is what happens when you have fiat monetary systems that are easily controlled and manipulated by central banks. Heaven forbid we allow markets to work out freely. That would take too long and wouldn’t look good for the politicians. Let’s walk…
Energy
There was a great article on Bloomberg today (click here to read it) talking about the current Panama Canal expansion project. Yet another positive sign for the US energy industry. I really think this is going to be one of the biggest investment stories of this decade, not to mention hugely positive for the US…
Election Results
As an advisor, I’m happy to have clarity. My job isn’t to root one way or the other. I simply want to know who will be in office for the next four years so I can provide advice and manage investments with a high level of confidence. Now that we know President Obama will remain…
Biding My Time…
I’m running above average levels of cash right now, especially in growth oriented portfolios, simply because I’m having a hard time finding decent value. Stocks, in general, are only 1.5% off their highs for the year, and in my opinion are still fairly stretched after what has been a great year to this point. While…