Is solar power running into a grid problem?
Just what solar energy companies don’t need—what could be an emerging risk that the existing national electricity grid isn’t up to the task of getting solar-generated electricity to consumers. First Solar’s (FSLR) December 22 cancellation of plans to build a...It's getting close to buy on the dip time in China
China’s stock market correction has spread from financials and real estate to the rest of the market. For almost two months now China’s banking regulators have stuck to their message: China’s big banks may need to raise more capital and put aside more money for...Oil to stay stuck at $70-$80 a barrel in 2010
So who ya’ gonna’ believe on oil prices in 2010? The economists at the International Energy Agency predict that oil demand will pick up sharply in 2010, rising about 1.5 million barrels a day from 2009 levels. Big oil traders, who handle about 15% of the world’s oil...And now for something shocking: The dollar and stocks start to move up in tandem
I’m seeing the first signs of a new relationship between stocks and the U.S. dollar. Ever since Lehman Bros went into bankruptcy in the fall of 2008, the dollar and stocks have been negatively connected. When the dollar went up, stocks went down, as investors saw any...Deflation's back in Japan–and why investors should care
Deflation has returned with a vengeance in Japan. And we’re not talking about some short-term dip in prices either. The Bank of Japan is forecasting that prices in Japan will fall by 1.5% this year, by 1% in 2010, and by 0.7% in 2011. So much for any recovery in the...What's the matter with …? (Fill in the blank with your favorite stock)
Nothing like a market where volume is drying up as it usually does at the end of the year—which makes it easier for traders to move stocks on news and rumors. Especially when the world is so busy supplying lots of potentially market-moving headlines. It’s a potent...China's banks copy Citigroup in hiding bad loans off their balance sheets
Banks are moving loans off their balance sheets in order to dress up their accounts for worried regulators. Only this time it isn’t Citigroup (C) or State Street (SST) that’s involved but China’s big banks. In November China’s banks packaged and then sold $18.6...Mr. Bond turns bearish on bonds
Mr. Bond, Pimco’s Bill Gross, doesn’t like bonds so much anymore. Gross, who manages the $200 billion Total Return Fund at Pacific Investment Management (Pimco) told CNBC on December 7 that Treasuries are over-valued given the odds that inflation and interest rates...Shut out in Iraq: The country's oil goes to everybody but the U.S.
All that blood and no oil? Even if you don’t believe that the Iraq war was all about oil, the results of that country’s auction for the right to explore and develop its huge oil reserves were shocking: U.S. companies were just about shut out in the results announced...Brazil's economy sambas but its stock market sinks–bargains anyone?
Blame it on Greece. That country’s runaway budget deficit and the resulting downgrades to its sovereign debt from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings have spooked investors around the world into moving into U.S. dollars for safety and out of commodities and...Greece is the word in today's selling
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but apparently enough investors were still not expecting it so that Standard & Poor’s downgrade of its credit rating on Greece has pushed down global stock markets. Today, December 17, S&P cut Greece’s credit rating one...Nothing surprising in this morning's surprisingly bad unemployment numbers
As you read this morning’s bad news on unemployment, keep repeating: “Unemployment is a lagging indicator; Unemployment is a lagging indicator.” It should keep your blood pressure down , prevent you from climbing out on ledge, and from joining this morning’s knee-jerk...A rising dollar stalls all boats (so far)
The rising dollar (and the falling euro and yen) has been enough to stall the emerging economy stock markets that have outperformed the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index since this huge rally began on March 9. The “stall” is just that. Emerging economy stock...The euro crisis just keeps getting worse
In the global ranking for economic acronyms countries want to be a BRIC. The group of Brazil, Russia, India, and China is seen as the world’s most vibrant economies and engines of global growth. And countries don’t want to be one of the PIIGS. The group of Portugal,...Right now a little inflation is good news
Inflation? Ever heard of it? It’s back. Or at least investors can smell the faint whiff of it amidst the seasonal tang of freshly cut Christmas trees. And that’s actually a good thing. On December 15 the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Producer Price...I can hear shareholders screaming but I still think Citigroup got off easy
I think Citigroup (C) just got off easy. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have let the company repay its government loans so it can pretend to be just a regular bank again. Not yet. Not by a long shot. You see there’s still the little problem of the $617 billion in...Mexico gets a debt downgrade–what country is next?
Another day, another country downgraded. This time it’s Mexico following the path blazed by Greece. On December 15, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s sovereign debt to BBB from BBB+. (Fitch Ratings had already downgraded the country on November 23.) That...Reverse Goldilocks bank stocks: The best buys weren't really terrible or really good but just bad enough
Ah, to be healthy bank that dodged the last financial crisis in residential mortgages and isn’t cowering in fear of the new one in commercial mortgages and loans. You be hovering up deposits from savers looking for safety. Licking your chops at all the tasty...Bonds killed stocks in the last 10 years–but how about the next 10?
Okay, we get it. This was “The Lost Decade” for stock investors. Yes, since January 2000 the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index is down, as of December 10, a painful 11%. We know this. We feel it in our portfolios. But what should we do about it? I suspect that the...The yen looks headed to replacing the dollar as the world's weak currency of choice
Trying to figure out whether the dollar is headed up or down over the next six months? That’s not exactly a purely academic exercise since a rising dollar has been linked lately to falling stock and commodity prices and a falling dollar has corresponded to rallies in...ExxonMobil buys U.S. natural gas for $31 billion–I told you this was a big trend
ExxonMobil (XOM) will buy XTO Energy (XTO) for $31 billion in stock. (ExxonMobil will also assume $10 billion in XTO Energy debt.) This acquisition is just the latest example of a shift among the international energy majors from exploration and development for oil in...Are we thriftier or have banks just cut up our credit cards?
Maybe U.S. consumers aren’t quite so virtuous after all. According to the flow of funds report from the Federal Reserve released last week, U.S. consumers had cut back on their use of credit in the third quarter of 2009. Outstanding credit card bills had dropped by...China's economy takes another step toward business as usual–and that's good news for the rest of the world
China moved another step toward normal, according to economic data for November released on December 11. Not close enough to normal, yet, for China to remove the dollar peg that has kept the renminbi at 6.8 to the dollar since July 2008. But the statistics show that...Yes, stocks are rotating away from risk but does it mean anything?
On the surface the stock market isn’t going anywhere. The choppy daily action hardly moves the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in a narrow range between 1088 and 1100. A “strong” rally like that of December 11 moves the index 4 points or 0.37%. But beneath the surface...Interest rates are rising even before the Federal Reserve moves
The march to higher U.S. interest rates is on. Oh, the Federal Reserve won’t increase short-term rates, the only ones it directly controls, for an “extended period” yet. I still think we’re looking at mid- to late-2010 before the Fed moves. Ben Bernanke and Company...New rules for investing in utilities–the risks and rewards are up
Utility stocks trade at a discount to the stock market as a whole. And at a bigger discount than usual. The forward price-to-earnings ratio based on projected earnings for the next twelve months is just 80% of the forward P/E ratio for the market as a whole. The...Household wealth rises and foreclosure rate hits a record–what kind of recovery is this?
Put these two headlines together from Bloomberg today and you’ve got a good snapshot of the U.S. economic “recovery” to date. “U.S. Foreclosures to Reach 3.9 Million in Second Record Year.” “Household Net Worth in U.S. Increases by $2.67 Trillion.” Let’s look at the...When will China's currency start to climb against the dollar?
When will China stop pegging its currency to the U.S. dollar and let the renminbi appreciate? The futures market now projects a 2.6% gain for the renminbi within the next twelve months. Some economists think that figure is low. Deutsche Bank chief China economist Ma...Initial claims number leaves jobs picture murky
I’m glad we cleared that up. Going into this morning’s 8:30 ET release of the numbers for initial claims for unemployment for the week ended on December 4, the big question was whether or not the data would support the big drop in November job losses—to just...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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