Bear Market In Cyclical Stocks
The bull market in cyclical stocks that began in March of last year is officially over. The YRPI Early Cyclical Index is down 23% from its April 2010 high. Early cyclicals are now in a bear market. As is evident on our chart, in relative terms, stable growth stocks are surging relative to cyclicals.... Read the full story
Fund Firms Try ETFs
Mutual-Fund Firms Jumping Into ETFs – Chuck Jaffe, The Wall Street Journal “Last week, the news out of Chicago was that there might soon be a day when at least half of the mutual-fund community converts its traditional funds into ETFs. The changes about to hit both the fund and ETF business were... Read the full story
The Most Important Takeaway from the BP Oil Spill
The oil spill in the gulf is an economic and environmental catastrophe. BP made some serious missteps that have cost the company and gulf coast residents dearly. While tragic, there are many lessons to be learned from the spill. There will be important takeaways for everyone involved or affected by the... Read the full story
5 Energy Market Insights
The 2010 edition of the BP Statistical review of World energy came out this month. BP’s Statistical review has been published for 59 years. It provides data on energy consumption, production, and reserves for all of the world’s major fuels broken down by country. Any investor seriously considering... Read the full story
States Hurt as Federal Dollars Dry Up
States Face New Pinch as Stimulus Ebbs – Deborah Solomon, The Wall Street Journal “Stimulus is going to run out and there isn’t sufficient economic growth and revenue growth that’s going to come in and make up for the loss of those funds,” said Scott Pattison…Thirty states... Read the full story
Henrik Fisker and the Auto Industry
Driven: How Henrik Fisker Aims to Floor the Auto Industry – Chuck Squatriglia, WIRED.com The big automakers are bogged down by excessive management and staff. They’re inefficient. We’re modern, fast, and light. Take the design process: At a typical car company, it lasts about 12 months. At Fisker... Read the full story
Dow Industrials vs. Gold
In the last 115 years there have been three secular bull markets in gold versus the Dow. The current secular bull market in gold is the third. In each of the last two gold bull markets, the ratio of financial assets to gold fell to a ratio of less than three. The current ratio of the DJIA to gold is... Read the full story
Are Small-Cap Stocks Running Out of Steam?
Is the strength in small-cap stocks running out of steam? I’m not talking about the recent correction in small stocks, but rather the relative performance of small cap stocks versus large cap stocks over the past decade. My chart shows the ratio of small stocks as measured by the Russell 2000 index... Read the full story
Yuan Revaluation
The China Currency Syndrome – Review & Outlook, The Wall Street Journal “To the extent that a revalued yuan raises production costs in China, some of its manufacturing will move to Vietnam, Bangladesh or other lower-cost countries…As for the U.S., the yuan has become a convenient scapegoat... Read the full story
Muni Debt Trap
You know how hard it is to be retired on a fixed income these days, especially with a risk-free rate (three-month T-bills) at less than one-tenth of one percent and with an historical expansion of government almost assuredly set to increase taxes next year. Caution: You don’t want to be like other... Read the full story
