The Market: September 2014

I hope all of you enjoyed a good summer with some well-deserved rest. Not much has changed. The Russians are still in eastern Ukraine. ISIS is still running around Syria and Iraq, and the bull market is still intact. At the time of the last newsletter, about 50% of S&P500 companies had reported their earnings, and…

The Market: July/August 2014

The Stock market hit an all-time high in July and I think the bull market will continue for a while. Of course, a caveat that there could be a correction is always worth mentioning.  Global political conflicts – Ukraine, Gaza, and Iraq are all making investors nervous.  Any one of those conflicts could escalate and a…

Market 2013: June 2014

I recently heard the prominent money manager, Leon Cooperman, make a funny but relevant quote.  He said, “If 100% of my portfolio is at 52-week highs then I am a momentum chaser.  If 100% of my portfolio is at 52-week lows, I’m out of business.” The point Cooperman was making is that when building a…

The Market: May 2014

“The most hated bull market” continues. Yesterday the S&P500 closed above 1900 for the first time – a record. As I like to point out, the pundits were wrong again.  Just days before the market hit a new high, they were scrolling off lists of why the market must go down.  The utilities are going…

The Market: April 2014

While the major indices are more or less where they were a month ago, there have been major corrections in certain sectors of the market, namely biotech, internet, and social media. The ETFs that track the biotech and social media stocks were down 21% and 22%, respectively. These are high profile sectors but are relatively…

The Market: March 2014

As we move through March, the bull market seems very much intact. Recent manufacturing reports were strong and after two months of soft numbers, the employment picture seems to be firming up. The S&P500 recovered from its January decline to make a new high on March 7th. Earnings season for the 4th quarter is behind…