As expected, the S&P 500 corrected slightly in the beginning of the week, but succeeded in only finishing down three straight days before a rally pushed the index back close to the highs. As for the small cap stocks, the Russell 2000 fell back to its 50-day moving average, before bouncing off its upward trendline. The small cap index has [...]
Is the Greek debt crisis over? Based on the stock market reaction last week one is tempted to say, yes, finally the Greek problem has been solved. Stocks sold off early in the week when it looked as if the deal might not be fully subscribed but recovered as European leaders managed to twist enough arms to get the deal [...]
Joseph Gomez, Sr. Investment Advisor and Portfolio Manager Up until this Tuesday, the S&P 500 had closed in overbought territory (more than one standard deviation above its 50-day MA) every single day this year. The 1.5%+ decline on Tuesday moved the S&P 500 back into “neutral” territory for the first time in 43 trading days. While the S&P 500 is right at [...]
There still persists in the minds of both investors and policymakers a need to believe in the printing press as universal financial salvation. First it was quantitative easing (QE) in the US. In the past few months the European Central Bank (ECB) has upped the debasement ante by twice engaging in Long-Term Refinancing Operations (LTRO), much to the unimpressively unbridled [...]
Most investors focused today on the employment report from ADP which showed a gain of over 200k jobs. The more interesting - and I think significant - report came 15 minutes later when the BLS released revised figures for 4th quarter productivity and unit labor costs. From Econoday: Productivity growth for the fourth quarter was bumped up slightly and in [...]
AT ALHAMBRA INVESTMENT PARTNERS WE OFFER DIFFERENT PORTFOLIO APPROACHES BASED ON YOUR PERSONAL INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY, GOALS, AND RISK TOLERANCE. OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGIES CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES: STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL. WHILE MOST INVESTORS ADHERE TO ONE CATEGORY, THE FOUNDERS OF THE COMPANY RECOGONIZE THE BENEFITS OF BOTH APPROACHES. AT OUR FIRM BOTH APPROACHES SHARE MANY COMMON PHILSOPHIES. ALMOST [...]
It is not often that I have agreed with Ben Bernanke over the years but in his testimony to Congress last week, the Fed Chairman said something I agree with almost completely (HT to Alan Abelson at Barron's): "The long-term health of the economy depends mostly on decisions taken by Congress and the administration." In the immortal words of Frank [...]
Thinking Things Over March 4, 2012 Volume II, Number 9: Romney and Obama Agree on Progressive Taxation: Are They Correct? By John L. Chapman, Ph.D. Washington, D.C. Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research, a strong military, and [...]
The markets were once again higher this week, as the Dow Industrials hit the 13,000 level and the Nasdaq Composite hit 3000, levels not seen in years. The S&P 500 also hit multi-year highs, on its way to the best 2-month start to any year. This might all change soon with Bernanke's announcement on inflation and monetary easing. The VIX [...]
Stay In Touch