And the best lack all conviction: The odds are against U.S. stocks holding alone
Breathe a sigh of relief over yesterday’s U.S. stock market rally from the brink of breakdown. But then face reality. With all of the world’s major stock markets—except for the U.S. market–still sinking in search of some support, it’s extremely unlikely that...Forget war in Korea–it's a possibile real estate tax in Shanghai that's hurting stocks there today
Will Shanghai? Won’t Shanghai? Introduce a real estate tax that is. The Shanghai stock market rallied yesterday, May 24, on speculation—and that’s all any of this is—that the city government would put off any real estate tax for three years. Any tax on property...LIBOR climbs and bank stocks fall–what else is new?
Bank stocks are down today around the world—and the blame goes to that old devil LIBOR. Dollar LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate that banks pay for short-term loans in dollars, climbed to 0.536% from 0.510% yesterday. That’s the 11th day in a row that LIBOR has...Another test for U.S. stocks: Will the S&P 500 hold 1040?
Can U.S. stocks hold the line when the rest of the world’s stock markets are in retreat? After an initial self-off the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index bounced—slightly—off support at 1040. You’ll remember from last week’s post...Get used to it: the global debt crisis will play out over and over again in the next decades
Someday the euro debt crisis that started in Greece and spread to engulf Europe will be over. Politicians in the 16 nations that currently use the euro will figure out the right mix of carrot and stick to get Greece, Portugal, Spain and other member states to adhere...In the drug sector go where the growth is: generics and emerging economies
If you can‘t beat ‘em, join ‘em. After years of worry that generic drug makers were going to destroy the profits of big U.S. drug makers, Big Pharma has figured out a solution: Buy them. Especially if the generic maker has big market share in a rapidly growing market...Worry over shaky Euro banks pushes up interest rates, threatening the global economic recovery
 The euro debt crisis is moving from the euro to European banks. Dollar LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate that banks pay for short-term loans in dollars, climbed to 0.51% today. That’s the highest level since July 16, 2009. A rising LIBOR reflects increasing...German finance minister compares Wall Street to swamp-dwelling frogs; frogs will sue, they croak
My favorite quote of the day about Wall Street’s complaints about financial reform comes from German finance minister Wolfgang Schaube. “If you want to drain a swamp, you don’t ask the frogs for an objective assessment of the situation,” he...Sell, sure, but try to do it on the fundamentals and not in panic
Panic doesn’t change fundamentals. Try to remember that as what is so far a very scary correction challenges our ability to invest rationally instead of emotionally. There are stocks that, if you own them, you should think about selling because the euro debt crisis...Wall Street blames regulation for the stock market's drop
Pardon me, but I’ve got a little trouble with this explanation of the stock market’s tumble. The problem, Wall Street is telling us, is that investors are afraid of a regulatory crackdown on Wall Street. Here’s a representative explanation from this morning’s...The euro debt crisis is lowering interest rates in the U.S. and slowing inflation in emerging economies
In Europe the euro debt crisis is nothing but bad news. Riots in Athens. Strikes in Spain. Shrinking pay checks. 20% unemployment. Rising taxes. Cuts to government services. Hard times for as far as the eye can see. In the U.S? Sure, the crisis has sent a shiver...Have things stopped getting worse faster? (Sorry that's as positive as I can get today)
Here’s the big question for investors: Is this just a correction—the usual and useful 10% or so drop that refreshes a rally for the next leg up—or something worse? Today, pending a big rally as we head into the market close, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index took...It's hard to judge today's sell off because options expire tomorrow: How much has that added to the selling pressure?
So far today, it’s a rout. Investors aren’t just selling stocks with big exposure to troubles in Europe or financials at risk from Senate’s financial reform legislation, they’re selling everything. Commodities stocks such as Statoil (STO)—down 6.24% as of 1:20 ET...Who's afraid of the index of leading indicators?
I don’t put much stock in the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Indicators. Seven out of 10 of the indicators are actually economic data—the Commerce Department released building permit data, for example, on Tuesday, May 18 —that were published before the index was...Brazil's financial markets already start to anticipate early end to interest rate increases thanks to euro crisis
In theory—well, in my theory, anyway—the euro debt crisis and the resulting slowdown in Europe’s economies will gradually reduce inflationary pressures in developing economies. And that will lead central banks in countries such as Brazil, India, and China to raise...Will support hold or are we looking at another 5% down for U.S. stocks?
Looks like a big test today for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and for U.S. stocks in general. Today straight out of the gate the index broke below the 1100 level where, over the last few days, it looked like the index was trying to stabilize. (See my post from...Could the S&P 500 be finding support near today's low?
A drop of 8.8% from its April recovery high isn’t anything to call home about, but, as Briefing.com points out in a very interesting piece of analysis today, that makes the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index one of the best performing in the world. And, as...Earnings are solid–and the economy's on track–even if the U.S. stock market doesn't care right now
Earnings, schmearnings. The stock market simply doesn’t care. After the close yesterday, May 18, Hewlett Packard (HPQ) reported earnings for its fiscal second quarter of 2010 of $1.09 a share. That was 4 cents a share better than Wall Street had projected. Revenue...Germany makes the euro crisis worse
All attempts to figure out how bad a crisis will get depend on the assumption that none of the parties will do something stupid. Germany just did. Yesterday, May 18, without any discernable coordination with the other members of the European Monetary Union, Germany...Time to start raising some cash–there are bargains waiting down the road
Investors raise cash for all kinds of reasons. In anticipation of some big personal expenditure. To protect a portfolio against risk in a volatile market. To have the firepower to take advantage of a future buying opportunity. That last reason is why I’ve decided to...Why the euro is headed to $1.10–politicians see it's the easy way out of the euro debt crisis
Why the endless downward pressure on the euro? Despite a $1 trillion bailout euro debt rescue plan, despite tradition-smashing euro bond buying by the European Central Bank, despite expressions of support from the Euro Zone’s political and financial leaders, the...China's stock market bear: How long are its claws?
On May 11 China’s stock market slipped into official bear market territory so quietly you’d think it was no big deal. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.9% putting it down 21% from its November 23 high. What’s next? Predictions fall into two diametrically opposed...3 stocks for investing in China's mighty wind power industry
In August 2007 only one Chinese wind turbine maker, Xinjiang Goldwind, made Merrill Lynch’s list of the top ten wind turbine makers in the world. In 2010 two Chinese companies Xinjiang Goldwind and Sinovel Wind Group both make the top 5. Sinovel has climbed to No. 3...The debt world turned upside down: the U.S. cuts the size of its bond sales in May
The Euro Zone’s pain is the U.S. Treasury’s gain. The yield in for the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is down below 3.5% again thanks to bond buyer’s flight to safety in the euro debt crisis. The drop takes the yield back to where it was in December 2009. Ordinarily, the...Euro crisis puts a U.S. interest rate increase in the deep freeze
Thanks to the euro debt crisis the Federal Reserve and the Chinese government are both likely to put tightening on hold. The Federal Reserve, which had been shrinking its balance sheet in preparation for an increase in its short-term interest rate target, now at 0% to...Economic growth, policies to fight inflation, and now budget cuts in an election year from Brazil? Yes, Brazil
Where can you find financial responsibility and sound fiscal policies these days? Forget about the debt-ridden United States. Washington hasn’t even begun to address its deficit. The United Kingdom? The new Conservative/Liberal coalition government is still lying to...The disaster in the Gulf has killed the chance for a national energy policy: here are the winners and losers, if I'm right
The list of casualties from the explosion at Transocean’s (RIG) Deepwater Horizon just keeps getting longer. There are the 11 rig workers who died in the fire. The reputation of BP (BP), the owner of the oil, Transocean, the owner and operator of the rig, and...Update watch list stock A123 Systems (AONE)
Lithium-ion battery maker A123 (AONE) is an object lesson in why buying into popular IPOs (initial public offerings) can be so dangerous—for investors who aren’t part of the initial insider crowd anyway. Consider this post an explanation for why this stock has been on...Worried that China's real estate bubble is going to pop? A proposed tax could be just the needle you fear
China is starting to consider the unthinkable: a local property tax. Shanghai’s city government is talking about instituting the country’s first tax on real estate. The Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, based in Hunan province, today reports that the city is considering a...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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