Daily State of the Markets

Improving Conditions, But...

Good Monday morning and welcome back to the land of blinking screens. Russia, Trump's Tweets as well as his latest hiring/firing, a big M&A deal, and North Korea's latest missile tests are in focus to start the week. But since it's the start of a new week, let's focus on our o…

Quick Take: Tech Selloff, Economic Data in Focus

Here's your "quick take" on this morning's market... Yesterday's sudden selloff in tech, the failure of the "skinny repeal," disappointing earnings from both Amazon and Starbucks, U.S. GDP, and the surprisingly good economic data across the pond are in focus this morning. …

Mid-Year Valuation Review

One of the key issues in the stock market revolves around the idea of valuations. Cutting to the chase, the question is whether or not the growth rate of the economy and, in turn, earnings, is strong enough to justify what most see as lofty valuation levels in stocks. One of the k…

The Next Big Worry? Well, Never Mind...

A couple weeks back, I opined that the next big problem for the stock market might revolve around global central bankers changing their monetary policy tune on a coordinated basis. The idea was simple. Stocks have enjoyed the benefits of capital creation via global QE programs since the c…

A Bull Market Until Proven Otherwise

Good Monday morning and welcome back to the land of blinking screens. Global growth, the Trump/Russia situation, oil, the upcoming Fed meeting, and the greenback are in focus to start the week. On the growth front, the euro area Markit PMI fell to 55.8 in July, which is the weakes…

Health Care Circus, Earnings In Focus

I am technology-challenged today (why my laptop had to crap out 21 days before I get my big desktop rig back is beyond me), so I am going to keep this brief. Health Care and earnings are the focal points in the early going today and if the early action is any guide, we can probabl…

Indicator Review: Not Much To Complain About

Good Monday morning and welcome back. It's the start of a new week so let's get right to our objective review the key market models and indicators and see where things stand. To review, the primary goal of this weekly exercise is to remove any subjective notions I might have in an effort …

Yellen Sounding More Like Yellen Again

When it comes to the markets, the slightest change in the narrative can make all the difference at times. And based on the market action yesterday, this might be one of those times. I wrote on Wednesday that rising bond yields (if the move were to continue, that is) could become t…

The Next Problem Could Be...

Don't look now fans, but bonds may be back on the list of things to worry about in the stock market. Jeff Gundlach, who has apparently been anointed the new king of the bond market, has suggested that bonds are on the precipice of a bear market and that Ten-year Treasury yields are on cou…

What I've Learned About Bear Markets

As you are likely aware, I've been at this game for a fair amount of time now. Starting in the financial services business straight out of college in 1980, I began gravitating toward the stock market and by 1987 my colleagues and I were managing "OPM" (other people's money) on a discretio…