Insights

Sorry, I haven't posted as much lately. I have been busy fixing computer problems which I think are solved now. US stocks had trouble today getting the 1220 level on the S&P 500 stock index and ended down 1.1% - 2.5% today. European stock markets were mixed today as...

Stocks were up, gold was down, bonds were flat. Stocks are really overbought here and have reached a resitance level. Stocks probably need a breather or they will head down. That's not in stone - markets can stay overbought but odds are against significant further...

Bonds are up, gold is up 2%, stocks are down -0.3% Asia was higher and Europe was mixed. Speaking of Europe, take a look at the highest rates I know of right now:...

Stocks were up anywhere from 2.2% - 4.75% today, depending on the index. Banks were on fire again today. There is serious value-bin buying going on in Bank of America and some other large banks and insurance companies. I recently ran a search to see if any stocks were...

Someone I love is bi-polar. It serves as a real challenge for them, even on medication. The stock market has been strongly bi-polar but its cycles are extremely short, lasting only hours. That makes life very interesting for those of us who manage people's retirement...

The revised GDP # for 2Q/2011 was released today as 1.0% growth. That was lower than expectations of 1.4%. That follows 1Q GDP of 0.4%. Welcome to Japan, boys - 1% or less interest rates, a large and rapidly growing national debt, a poor stock market and awfully slow...

Stocks were up strongly in the US and Europe. The S&P 500 finished up 1.3%. Europe was up more, 1.5%- 2.6%. Asia closed earlier and was down. The only gripe with the rally today was that volume was fairly low. Remember too that 3 weeks ago we had a sharp 3-day rally...

Here are the #s: S&P 500 3.43% DJIA 3% Nasdaq 4.3% Sml Stks 4.9% Gold -3.75% I don't trust this rally in stocks today. It will have to prove itself by continuing significantly higher. A sharp one-day 5% rally is not uncommon in a bear market. Usually, it is a small...

Asian markets were up nicely this morning partly on news that Chinese manufacturing was basically flat, which is an improvement. European markets followed suit but gave back a good bit of their gains. There were actually a couple of European economic reports that were...

It was a disappointing day for stocks, starting up strongly and then selling it off all day until stocks finished pretty much where they started. Europe was up 2%+ when US markets opened and then sold off most of their rally, following the US lead. Germany finished in...