Market Overview

I’m a big believer in doing independent investment research. But I also believe that it’s never a bad idea to look over the shoulder of some of the best investors in the business for...

This week’s economic news is mostly jobs-related. The Fed has cited employment as the most important factor in future rate decisions. There is plenty of FedSpeak on tap. Pundits love to talk...

Was the March 2009 low the end of a secular bear market and the beginning of a secular bull? At this point, over five-and-a-half years later, the S&P 500 has set an inflation-adjusted record high...

The beginning of a new month starts the usual cycle of economic data. Among these, only the US employment report is significant. A weak report would not only rule out a June hike by the Fed, but would...

The general expectation of less directional trading on Friday, proved correct. Interesting it looks as if we could see a similar type of today as we start the week, but almost in reversal of...

Please note that the returns for the Global Market Index (GMI) and its rebalanced version (GMI-R) were overstated in Friday’s monthly update for April 2015. The actual returns are in fact...

Crude Oil has shown an impressive recovery from the monthly demand zone around $45, closing April with a bullish engulfing candle. Should it continue going up, a new demand zone may form between $46...

Euro and Swiss Franc ended the week as the strongest major currencies. Inflation data from Eurozone lessened the pressure on ECB to expand stimulus. Also, the markets seemed to be relatively...

In the game of trading there is always a rush to be the first one in or out, state it in real time and then wait to take a victory lap. It's great fun and an ego stroke to be able to 'call that shot',...

There is a brewing issue lingering in the background that will likely move to the forefront of the financial press in the months and years to come. It's the emergence of the Chinese yuan and renminbi....

Economic data out of the United States remains lackluster. We now see more evidence that a strong dollar can be quite damaging to US growth, as manufacturing employment in the US unexpectedly shifts...

While ECB president Mario Draghi brags his economic policy of negative interest rates is working, I ask for whom? On April 23, 2015 I noted Spain's Unemployment Rate Increases to 23.7%; 114,300 Jobs...

If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores? The “retail apocalypse” that I have written about so frequently...

I like my job. I really do. But I think I’d like being an independently-wealthy man of leisure quite a bit more. Relaxed days of sweet nothingness sound pretty appealing. That’s the dream,...