Welcome to November. As widely noted October was the worst month since 2011. Will the rout continue? Many times I have commented about the massive imbalances in the markets. It appears every aspect of the market—compliance, trading, portfolio management, etc.—has gravitated to passive/index investing where by...
President Trump may soon label China a currency manipulator. While I will skip the obvious notion that all countries manipulate their currencies either overtly (devaluation) or covertly (monetary policy), such a declaration may have wide ranging implications....
Will history regard Senator Reid’s 2013 ending of the Senate filibuster and the 2014 OPEC decision to flood the world with oil as two of the worst political calculations in recent history? Both have the potential to have an infinite number of unintended consequences as...
Many times I have commented Main Street will outperform Wall Street, a theme I first began discussing about 18-20 months, partially the result of valuations and the preponderance of monies following the largest capitalized momentum growth issues suggesting this sector was vastly over owned. I...
Today is the Inauguration. I vividly recall President Obama’s 2009 inauguration speech. While I did not vote for him, I found his comments hopeful and uplifting, thinking give this guy a chance to see if he can unify and heal the country....
Treasuries fell while the dollar advanced in a reversal of Tuesday’s trading as the markets weighed the prospect of rising inflation against the political uncertainty of a Trump presidency. Equites fluctuated amid corporate results....
Will there be a tectonic change in government? President Trump is considering a 20% cut in the number of federal workers and an outright reduction in federal spending. Historically a government spending cut is a reduction in the amount of a planned increase, not an...
A theme that may become more pronounced is Main Street outperforming Wall Street, a nascent trend that commenced about two months ago. President Trump’s economic comments are more akin to “old line Democratic thinking” of favoring small business and the “little man” instead of the...
Where are the markets going? Was there the proverbial “buy on rumor and sell on fact” as now most will become focused upon transforming Trump’s words into action and policies? Will the averages be spooked if there is a delay in confirmations?...
Optimism among small business soared in December by the most since 1980 as the economy’s prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election. The indicator itself is now at the highest level since the end of December 2004. Moreover a subcomponent indicating small...