Robert Burns, father of fourteen and writer of Auld Lang Syne, once said, “There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.” Was he ever right! Here are a few sure things: · The Federal Reserve intends to reduce economic stimulus by tapering quantitative easing (QE). · Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke plans to retire.… Click for more / Podcast Player>
One of these things is not like the other… If you find yourself humming that old Sesame Street standard when you think about financial markets and world economies, you’re probably not alone. To the consternation of many, the Dow Jones Industrials Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rocketed to new highs last week… Click for more / Podcast Player>
The Fed will taper… the Fed will not… the Fed will taper… the Fed will not… Last week, investors and traders obsessed about the Federal Reserve and the possibility it might begin to end its quantitative easing program. The Fed began its first round of quantitative easing during the financial crisis in an effort to… Click for more / Podcast Player>
Much like elementary school children trying to capture the attention of someone they have a crush on, the American economy sent lots of mixed signals last week. Conflicting reports emerged about consumer sentiment during the week. The Conference Board, a non-profit research organization, reported consumers remained somewhat pessimistic about the direction of the economy. In… Click for more / Podcast Player>
‘Sell in May and Go Away’ is a trading maxim which, according to Investopedia, encourages an investor to “sells his or her stock holdings in May and get back into the equity market in November...” Traders who adhere to that adage may be pondering averages and exceptions right now. During the first two weeks of… Click for more / Podcast Player>
Last week, the term ‘Easy Money’ conjured both comedian Rodney Dangerfield and the U.S. Federal Reserve, and no one was certain how much respect either one should get. The Fed accidentally e-mailed its market-moving Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes to congressional staffers and trade lobbyists on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The minutes weren’t… Click for more / Podcast Player>