Ease on. That’s the message that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered this week, causing the bond market to rally, the stock market to hit new highs and the seas to…
Market Reaction To Comments Reflects Market Efficiency
It’s worth keeping the efficient market hypothesis in mind when considering the impact of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s announcement this week that bond buying will be coming to an end.…
Forever Blowing Bubbles
“I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air They fly so high, nearly reach the sky And like my dreams they fade and die.” …
The Yin-Yang Economy
Last week, with sequestration pending, President Obama and others warned of airplanes falling from the sky, tainted meat being served and schools being closed because of teacher layoffs. The budget…
The End of the Road
The problem with kicking the can down the road is that sooner or later, the road ends. Evidence of this can be found in recent stock market performance. Quantitative easing…
Healthcare For All – Like it Or Not
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Constitutionality of Obamacare by a 5-4 vote will mean different things to different people. Even its impact on healthcare companies will vary. …
Compared To What?
The U.S. dollar is the strongest it’s been in a year-and-a-half. Is this renewed strength a sign of American economic strength? In a way – but it’s all relative. The…
The High Price of High-Frequency Trading
Whatever its perceived benefits, HFT is changing the way the stock market operates. It used to be that companies went public to raise capital; investors took risks by buying company stock,…
200-Day Moving Average Says the Bear Is Back
Investment managers regard the 200-day moving average price of an index such as the S&P 500 or of an individual stock as the dividing line. An index or stock trading…
Market Going In Wrong Direction
With profits exceeding analyst forecasts and a debt-ceiling agreement reached, there was reason to believe that the market might be ready to reverse direction and head back up last week.…