The roller-coaster ride in office supply store stocks currently is on another downslide. The corporate shakeup in paper, pens and folders came when Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax announced their merger in early 2013, in an attempt to take on titian Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS).  The positive reaction to the… Read More

After lagging the broader market for more than a year, SPDR S&P Metals & Mining (NYSE: XME) finally put in a bottom in June and has bounced more than 30% from those lows. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), a major supplier of iron ore, fell from $100 a… Read More

One company that is on my radar after signing an agreement with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is fuel cell maker Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG). The one-time penny stock announced an agreement on Feb. 26 to provide Wal-Mart with 1,700 more fuel cell units, hydrogen supply and a six-year service contract.  Shares… Read More

Energy prices are on the move once again. Crude oil is at five-month highs and solidly above $100 a barrel. And natural gas hit multiyear highs with severe cold weather across North America and no end yet in sight to this record-breaking winter. Add in the macroeconomic picture of increased… Read More

The energy market has been resilient as crude oil has stabilized above $100 a barrel with another recovery from recent lows. The three-year range from roughly $80 to $110 targets a move to $140 per barrel on a technical breakout above the highs. Brazilian stocks, on the other hand, have… Read More

The selling that kicked off 2014 was quickly reversed with a full “V” recovery and the major indices back to their highs. Technology stocks have led the way for over a year, and the Nasdaq just hit another 12-year high. The Nasdaq 100 index, which rocketed almost 36% over the… Read More

The selling that kicked off 2014 was quickly reversed with a full “V” recovery and the major indices back to their highs. Technology stocks have led the way for over a year, and the Nasdaq just hit another 12-year high. The Nasdaq 100 index, which rocketed almost 36% over the… Read More

The retail sector as a whole has almost recovered from January’s double-digit sell-off.  Despite the rough start to 2014, SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is up nearly 30% over the past year, but the performance of individual retailers has been hit or miss. Luxury handbag and accessory… Read More

The retail sector as a whole has almost recovered from January’s double-digit sell-off.  Despite the rough start to 2014, SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is up nearly 30% over the past year, but the performance of individual retailers has been hit or miss. Luxury handbag and accessory… Read More

Banks as a group have had a great couple of years with super low interest rates and the essentially zero cost of money. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) has risen almost 200% in the past five years, and monetary policy doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. The… Read More

Banks as a group have had a great couple of years with super low interest rates and the essentially zero cost of money. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF) has risen almost 200% in the past five years, and monetary policy doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. The… Read More

The broader market S&P 500 index has bounced back from its healthy 6% sell-off and is again within spitting distance of its all-time high. And while the automotive industry’s recovery cannot be underestimated, shares of former blue chip and Big 3 automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) are struggling, down 11%… Read More

The broader market S&P 500 index has bounced back from its healthy 6% sell-off and is again within spitting distance of its all-time high. And while the automotive industry’s recovery cannot be underestimated, shares of former blue chip and Big 3 automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) are struggling, down 11%… Read More

Sentiment in gold has been decidedly negative since the metal peaked in 2011. However, even though the June low was eclipsed on the downside in December, the fact that a new high in volatility was not made signals price stability and a bottom base.  Gold’s run up to $1,300 an… Read More