Stocks Ignoring Consumer Angst image

Stocks Ignoring Consumer Angst

While surprising to some (mostly those dressed in their best bear garb), the stock market continues to work its way higher. Appearing to be climbing the proverbial "wall of worry," the S&P 500 just keeps on keepin' on - to the tune of record high closes, that is. In case you'v…
Will Stocks Soon Experience Indigestion? image

Will Stocks Soon Experience Indigestion?

I remained in vacation mode over the weekend and tried my best to stay away from the computers. And since I'm now attempting to dig out upon re-entry, I'm going to let the market models do most of the talking this morning. In brief, I believe the stock market remains in what I'll …
Don't Look Now But Valuations Are Improving image

Don't Look Now But Valuations Are Improving

My wife and I are supposed to be vacationing in England this week and next. But since COVID's Delta Variant (and the U.S. State Department) had other plans, my wife and are instead "staycationing" via a couple short trips. While the mountains of Colorado are very different from the Lake D…
Rocky Road Ahead? image

Rocky Road Ahead?

From my seat, the key driver to the stock market game appears to be the outlook for growth. As in what the growth rates for both GDP and corporate earnings will be once we get beyond comparisons to the economic shutdown phase. As I wrote last time, growth is likely peaking due to …
Is 'Peak Everything' A Problem? image

Is 'Peak Everything' A Problem?

Despite surprisingly good data on Retail Sales, stocks of all styles, sizes, and shapes took a hit on Friday. Semis, banks, smallcaps, midcaps, and large caps - all down. Value - down. Cyclicals - down. Growth - also down. Save the traditional risk-off sectors such as healthcare, staples,…
Bulls (Still) Deserve Benefit of Doubt image

Bulls (Still) Deserve Benefit of Doubt

I was recently asked to provide a quick answer to the question "where are we now?" as far as the markets are concerned. While "quick answers" are not usually part of my repertoire, I decided to give it a shot. Cutting to the chase, I believe the stock market is currently in the pr…
Why I'm Not Worried About Valuations image

Why I'm Not Worried About Valuations

One of the bear camp's main arguments is that stocks should be moving down instead of up because of high valuations. Our furry friends suggest that with traditional valuation metrics (Price-to-earnings/dividends/book value/sales, etc.) in the stratosphere, stocks simply have no upside. Th…
The Key to the Second Half Will Be... image

The Key to the Second Half Will Be...

As the second quarter of 2021 winds to a close, the S&P 500 finds itself at all-time highs. To many, the new heights the venerable large-cap index has recently scaled is more than a little bewildering. After all, wasn't the stock market in the throes of a corrective phase just…
What's Up With Bond Yields? image

What's Up With Bond Yields?

I am finishing up a long weekend visit with family in Santa Fe this morning, so I'm going to keep today's missive short and sweet. My current take is that markets remain in a consolidation mode and are now in the process of digesting/adjusting to the new info from last week's Fed meeting,…
About That Inflation Problem image

About That Inflation Problem

For those of you keeping score at home, it was the inflation data that dominated the stock market game last week. While the numbers were eye-popping, the market reaction was not. And the narrative around the subject appears to be evenly split between the two teams on the field. In…