Today the S&P 500 is clinging to positive territory for the year but the technology bubble, especially cloud and social media stocks, is popping. It is very remiscient of the 2000 tech downturn which I am very familiar with. At my first Wall Street job, I was in charge of IPOs and this IPO market is eerily similar.
Soaring food inflation threatens to derail US growth
In a speech last Wednesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that persistently low inflation poses a more immediate threat to the US economy than rising prices. This is a very curious comment as food inflation has been soaring in 2014 thanks to droughts in California and Latin America as well as the central banks printing presses running hot. Pork, beef and shrimp prices are all hitting all-time highs.
Can Sotheby’s stock predict a stock market crash?
Investors are always on the hunt for a reliable market indicator which signals a market top. In my mind, asset protection is often an underappreciated skill in this business because so few people have been able to repeat the skill time and time again. Every cycle is slightly different so it is certainly a challenge, but I believe it can be done and with huge value added.
Earlier this month on CNBC, famed hedge fund manager Jim Chanos shared a chart which shows that shares of Sotheby's (BID) have peaked before every major financial bubble since 1987.
Is Fed Chair Janet Yellen Tapering Fast Enough?
Back in August, I gave you “3 Reason Not to Fear the Taper” because I didn't feel that the Fed reducing bond purchases would hurt the market. While the taper hasn't been on for long, US stock market indices are trading near all-time highs which confirms my call. Today I wonder aloud, “Is the Fed tapering fast enough?”
Asset Protection 101: Knowing when to sell
January was a rough start of the year for the stock market with the Dow 30 down 5.5%. The headlines described the month as “brutal” and “horrific.” As an individual investor, this can cause worry as one wonders, “Is this the start of the next bear market?”
Eerie 1929 Chart is Scaring Wall Street
Last December a chart began circulating among Wall Street trading desks that draws parallels between the stock market crash of 1929 and today. This chart is obviously frightening as the market fell over 40% in one month back in 1929.
Technician Tom DeMark first drew parallels with the 1928-1929 period last November. “Originally, I drew it for entertainment purposes only,” he said—but no longer: “Now it’s evolved into something more serious.” According to DeMark, if the S&P decisively brakes the 1762 level then a major bear market will have only just begun.