For five years, investors wondered if China’s growth story was dead and its market would ever rise again. Then late last year, investors began rushing back in, sending the Shanghai Composite zooming higher. The index surged nearly non-stop until June of this year, when it looked like the… Read More

As the market made new highs over the past six years, many companies could seemingly do no wrong. Investors rushed into highfliers as enthusiasm trumped reason, driving prices even higher.  When enthusiasm begins to crumble, though, as it has in the recent market sell-off, these investor favorites are… Read More

As the market made new highs over the past six years, many companies could seemingly do no wrong. Investors rushed into highfliers as enthusiasm trumped reason, driving prices even higher.  When enthusiasm begins to crumble, though, as it has in the recent market sell-off, these investor favorites are… Read More

With the vast majority of companies in the S&P 500 having reported earnings, it appears the index will post the first earnings decline since Q3 2012. Worse still, we will likely see the first back-to-back quarters of revenue decline since 2009, with Q2 sales estimated to drop 3.3%. Read More

The semiconductor industry has always been extremely cyclical and volatile. Demand for chips fluctuates widely with the product cycles of major tech companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung (OTC: SSNLF). At present, it looks like the industry is signaling a slowdown.  Shares of Samsung are 16% off… Read More

The semiconductor industry has always been extremely cyclical and volatile. Demand for chips fluctuates widely with the product cycles of major tech companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung (OTC: SSNLF). At present, it looks like the industry is signaling a slowdown.  Shares of Samsung are 16% off… Read More

Carmakers reported surprisingly strong U.S. light-vehicle sales in May with a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.71 million units, the highest since 2005. Aided by five weekends, including the usual Memorial Day blowouts, daily sales of 62,558 units were 5.5% higher than the same month last year. Besides great weather… Read More

Carmakers reported surprisingly strong U.S. light-vehicle sales in May with a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.71 million units, the highest since 2005. Aided by five weekends, including the usual Memorial Day blowouts, daily sales of 62,558 units were 5.5% higher than the same month last year. Besides great weather… Read More

The surge in natural gas production has changed the energy landscape in the United States. Production jumped 44% between 2005 and 2014 compared to a decline of 4.5% over the previous nine-year period. Prices for natural gas at the Henry Hub in Louisiana jumped 162% between 2002 and… Read More

Despite the fact that Southwest Airlines’ (NYSE: LUV) fundamental metrics are the strongest they have been in a long time and the shares are dirt cheap, the stock has spent most of 2015 torturing the bulls. While oil prices are still relatively low, their recent jump helped knock the… Read More

Despite the fact that Southwest Airlines’ (NYSE: LUV) fundamental metrics are the strongest they have been in a long time and the shares are dirt cheap, the stock has spent most of 2015 torturing the bulls. While oil prices are still relatively low, their recent jump helped knock the… Read More

Higher interest rates are setting up to be one of the major market themes of 2015. Global rates are surging, and despite the fact that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Federal Reserve to hold off on increasing the fed funds rates, investors remain on edge. This is wreaking… Read More

At the end of February, I made the case for a looming market correction based on slowing economic data, downward revisions in corporate earnings growth and the S&P 500’s high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.  Over the following two weeks, the S&P 500 dropped more than 3% before trading back up and… Read More

Spotting emerging trends in the market is the best way I have found to make oversized returns in equities. By getting ahead of market sentiment for a particular sector, idea or theme, you can take advantage of the herd mentality without being part of the herd. This quarter, and potentially… Read More