Everything is closed – Why is the stock market still open?
It is no secret that the life we are going through now is nothing like we have experienced before. The isolation from society is simply not what anyone has been prepared for. But added to that is the stress of the stock market crashing taking out ~30% of accrued...
And just like that – US enters a recession and headlong into a bear market
While everything from deserted ball games to school closings to elbow shakes instead of handshakes may seem strange to us, this is not the first time epidemics have wreaked havoc in America. Headlines in NY Times on April 12, 1955 was “Polio is Conquered.” Until then,...
Wild week prompts a look at key indicators
In a tumultuous week for equities, the Dow swung 1,000 points or more - twice within three days. The Dow lost nearly 1,000 points (more than 3%) on Thursday, and added even more sharp declines on Friday, tanking more than 750 points. The S&P and the Nasdaq...
Will Corona virus take us into bear market territory?
U.S. stocks entered a market correction — defined as a 10% drop from a recent peak — on Thursday this week as fears around the global spread of Corona virus rocked financial markets. For the S&P 500, the drop into a correction from an all-time high in just six...
Looking for correlation between GDP growth and S&P 500 returns
From May 2009 through January 2020, the S&P 500 climbed at a 15.1% annualized rate. In contrast, U.S. GDP averaged only about 2% in the last decade. Popular notion is that equities can only keep appreciating at 15-20% a year while GDP grows at 2-3% annually for so...
Warren Buffett had his worst year in 20 years in 2019 – Can you believe it?
Berkshire Hathaway stock gained only 10.9% in 2019, 20.6 percentage points lower than the S&P 500’s total return. Berkshire’s annual shareholder letter is expected to be released on Feb 22 and is usually a must read for every investor. But, this year, Warren...
Virus Outbreak – Sit tight (with a mask) or Bail?
The coronavirus has spread rapidly since emerging in Wuhan in December. So far its spread outside China has been limited, but appears to be spreading with new cases being reported every day. Investors have reacted fast - selling off equities with China ETFs down...
Are stocks overbought? Fear not, the Fed has your back.
As markets continue to rally, questions are arising if today’s stock market is akin to the stock market rise in 1999. There are, of course, quite a few differences. In 1999, there were no earnings, only clicks — it was a widely followed metric — the more dot-com...
Is “monster” trade deal with China for real?
The Trump administration’s “monster” trade deal with China helped drive global stocks to records and push currency volatility to all time lows. But the accord excludes $50 billion of U.S. exports and there are doubts China can buy the extra $95 billion in commodities....