Investors Still Pessimistic
Although we’re in a bit of a correction right now, I remain basically bullish on stocks. I tend to favor the ones outside the US but even in the US, I think there are good reasons to remain bullish for now. Earnings are surprisingly good; productivity is rising as companies lay off workers and expand margins. And .. read more
Commodity Correction
Commodities, like stocks, are correcting right now. Unlike stocks though, the commodity indices are still above their 50 day MAs and I think should be bought on the pullback.
Stocks Break 50 Day Moving Averages
All the major US stock market averages broke below their 50 Day Moving averages today. I use the 50 day MA as my correction indicator, so as far as I’m concerned, we are officially in a correction. That doesn’t mean the market has to fall off a cliff; many corrections are nothing more than sideways .. read more
Tarped and Stimulated
The Commerce Department will release the preliminary estimate of third quarter GDP on Thursday and the consensus expectation is for a positive growth rate of 3%. Considering what has been spent on behalf of economic recovery I would sure hope that we get something north of 3%. TARP took roughly 5% of GDP from the private .. read more
Feinberg Cuts Pay
The Obama administration’s pay czar will order companies with significant government ownership to cut pay: WASHINGTON — Responding to the growing furor over the paychecks of executives at companies that received billions of dollars in federal bailouts, the Obama administration will order the companies that received the most aid to deeply slash the compensation to .. read more
Tit for Tat
BEIJING – China took steps to impose antidumping duties on certain nylon imports from the U.S., European Union, Russia and Taiwan, hitting companies in the U.S. with duties of as much as 36%. This is why it is so dangerous for the US to start down this path with tire tariffs. The US has been .. read more
Brazil Taxes Foreign Investment
Brazil will impose a tax on foreign investment in an attempt to stem the rise of the Real (via Bloomberg): The government announced yesterday it will impose a 2 percent tax on foreign purchases of fixed-income securities and stocks starting today. The levy is higher than a previous 1.5 percent tax scrapped a year ago .. read more
Down the Rabbit Hole
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” From Alice in Wonderland I’m quite sure that Charles Dodgson – better known as Lewis .. read more
