Wall Street is Out of Sync with Main Street, Says Sam Zell Billionaire business magnate Sam Zell says Wall Street is out of sync with Main Street. The $4.8 billion dollar man and chairman of Equity Group Investments really isn’t saying anything the average American reading the news…
The NASDAQ opened flat on Tuesday July 14th amid disappointing data in retail sales. Abroad, investors remain uneasy about talks surrounding Greece’s bailout package. European shares turned lower on Tuesday after a four-day rally due to uncertainty over whether the measures would be passed in Greece’s parliament. The…
Wall Street rose on Monday, July 13th, as Greece and its creditors strike a deal to move forward with a third bailout loan to avert their financial crisis. European stocks climbed on Monday after eurozone leaders announced a deal to provide a loan to keep Greece solvent. While…
Wall Street opened sharply higher on Friday July 10th, as investors cheered the Chinese rebound and felt optimistic over the new submitted proposal by Greece to creditors to win new funds and avert bankruptcy. Chinese stocks rose sharply for the second day on Friday, with the Shanghai Composite…
Wall Street opened higher on Thursday, July 9th as Chinese stocks finally rebounded, while focus remained on efforts to prevent the collapse of Greece. China’s Shanghai Composite stock index climbed almost six percent after the Chinese government announced some regulatory measures to prevent further selloff. The Shanghai Composite…
Going back to the lackluster corporate earnings from early reporters that I talked about in my last article, today, I’m taking a closer look at NIKE, Inc. (NKE), which appears to be outperforming the market so far in 2015. Current Economic and Stock Market Action In the fourth…
Similar to the trading action in the first half of last year, the stock market seemingly continues with its identity crisis. While it’s perfectly reasonable for stocks to sell off on any inkling of a change in monetary policy, what’s interesting about the market bounce-backs is that they’re…
With the broader stock market gyrating based on expectations of the Federal Reserve’s possible interest rate increase, the NASDAQ Biotechnology index and Russell 2000 are still holding up near their highs. A closer look at the current market dynamics suggests rising interest rates won’t be the cause of…
Three of the many things that traders and investors get caught up in within the equity markets are Wall Street estimates, Wall Street consensus, and whether or not a company has beat, met, or came in below what a group of research analysts expected. It is, of course,…
Railroad stocks are always good barometers on overall business conditions and the economy. Keeping up with railroads is equally as useful as following the Dow Jones Transportation Average for stock market direction. And for the most part, the major railroad companies have been excellent investments over the last…
It really is a great time to be in the railroad business. Cash flow is abundant and these stocks are poised for more capital gains. While coal shipments have been a weak spot for railroad companies, virtually all other major customer sectors are producing excellent comparable growth. And…
Lots of corporate earnings are still streaming in for the third quarter, though mostly among smaller-cap companies. Top-line growth certainly isn’t robust, but it’s not bad either. The surprise I’ve noticed in third-quarter reporting has been the profitability. There has been plenty of double-digit comparable earnings growth on…
It’s finally over… The quantitative easing programs initially started by the Federal Reserve six years ago are (for now) history. In its statement on October 29, the Federal Reserve said, “Accordingly, the Committee decided to conclude its asset purchase program this month.” (Source: “FOMC Statement,” Federal Reserve, October…
With the winter months just around the corner, Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (PLOW) is looking forward to as much snow falling as possible. Based in Milwaukee, Douglas Dynamics is one of the many small- and micro-cap companies reporting very good earnings based on solid domestic demand. This company manufactures…
It looks like large-cap technology stocks, especially those related to online businesses, are experiencing a slowing down of what’s traditionally been some very solid growth. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD), and Groupon, Inc. (GRPN) have all been under pressure. Many pure-play online businesses are…
Corporate earnings are flooding in, and while there are always disappointments—typically in not meeting Wall Street expectations—the numbers are pretty good. The stock market was relieved when conglomerates started reporting. 3M Company (MMM) saw its share price pop almost five percent higher after beating estimates and reporting a…
Even with the recent price retrenchment, there’s not a lot of value circulating in this stock market. Everything’s already gone up and the capital gains have been great the last few years. But it’s still a slow-growth environment in the global economy, and despite a very accommodative monetary…
Amid all the turmoil in capital markets, I’m reminded of all the good corporate earnings being released. Of course, the stock market is a system of discounting future business conditions and the recent sell-off has been pronounced, but stocks have come so far over the last several years.…
While corporate earnings continue to come in solid, stocks continue to be sold. It’s not all the time that stocks follow oil prices, but they certainly have this time around and the selling momentum has gained on deflationary pressures from producer prices to declining expectations for global economic…
The financial media and analysts are talking endlessly about the state and fragility of the stock market and whether a bottom may be near. I discussed the vulnerability to the downside in my last article. If you missed it, you may want to go back and read what…
