It wasn’t an expected rally, but it sure was welcome. Shortly after President Trump announced his plan to lower U.S. prescription prices, it triggered a major rally in drug stocks, like Amgen (AMGN) and Merck (MRK) Even the Health Care ETF (XLV) rallied higher on the day to $83.03. While the President had long promised…
DetailsPresident Donald Trump just announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and again impose economic sanctions. And, of course, fear of that sent oil to over $71 a barrel. But analysts don’t think we’ll see a super-spike. While sanctions could reduce Iranian output by about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), it may…
DetailsWhen you listen to Warren Buffett speak, you can always take away a few words of wisdom. With a fortune of $83.5 billion, and a company that’s generated a 20.9% annual return, as compared to the S&P 500’s 9.9% return between 1965 and 2017, he’s worth listening to. That’s why over this past weekend, 42,000…
DetailsFor the first time in 18 years, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped below 4% to 3.9%, as employers added another 164,000 workers to payrolls, marking the 91st consecutive months of job gains. Sure, the number was weaker than the projected 193,000, however: “While the job numbers came in below expectations, the reality is that the…
DetailsYou’d think the world was coming to an end. The 10-year is at 3%. Run and hide. “All hell might break lose,” reported CNBC. “Market euphoria may turn to despair,” cried analysts at Bloomberg. But as we’ve long argued, their fear actually creates a buying opportunity. For the first time in four years, the proxy…
DetailsBack in September 2017, the war of words intensified between President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. Trump called Kim a “Rocket Man” bent on a “suicide mission”. Kim responded that Trump was a “mentally deranged US dotard,”and threatened to test an H-bomb over the Pacific. Trump warned that the U.S. could “totally…
DetailsU.S. GDP may have slowed a bit, but it was far better than expectations. “The economy is in fine shape,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist of PNC Financial Services Group, as quoted by USA Today. “We will see stronger growth the rest of 2018.” In fact, should all go according to plan, growth won’t be…
DetailsEver since the beginning of 2018, markets have been excessively volatile. Granted, the economy is still as strong as ever with 4.1% unemployment, and robust GDP growth on the heels of consumer spending, but there have been hiccups along the way including fears of a trade war, tensions over Syria, and poor earnings. In fact,…
DetailsSmall cap stocks have been some of the most explosive in April 2018. In fact, such stocks, as measured by the Russell 2000, are up 5% and have been less impacted by geopolitical tension and trade war fears, as compared to large cap stocks. Even better, according to analysts at the FTSE Russell: “With Q1…
DetailsAfter hitting a high of 26,616 in January, the Dow Jones sank 12% to a low of 23,334 in March. While we’ve recovered slightly from that low, we still have to realize there is potential for further downside. Luckily, the economy is strong. Unemployment is still at 4.1%, and there are high expectations for strong…
DetailsAnother strong earnings season is on tap. Banks, for example, came out swinging for the fences, as Citigroup (C) beat earnings with EPS of $1.68, as compared to expectations of $1.61. JP Morgan beat both the top and bottom line with earnings of $2.37 on revenue of $28.52 billion. Wells Fargo (WFC) beat projections with…
DetailsOil is always a fickle trade. Over the weekend, crude oil rallied to a high of $68 on news the U.S., Britain and France launched airstrikes against Syrian storage, research and military targets, as the countries sought to punish its leader over suspected chemical attacks. The strikes only increased fears that the U.S. could be…
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