Tag Archives: S&P 500

"A sluggish economy, political gridlock, tepid earnings, the European debt crisis, high gasoline prices..." I can't really argue with Barron's depiction of the current market environment yet, against all these seemingly negative conditions, the stock market keeps surging higher. Can it possibly continue, though?

This infographic highlight changes in economic indicators, reports relevant news stories, reveals commodity and financial trends, provides technical analysis and looks at the recent price of gold and real interest rates with relevant charts.

It’s that time again. The Dow surpassed its all-time high and the S&P 500 is not that far from the tops of 1553 on March 24, 2000 and 1576 on October 9, 2007. Just as in 2000 and 2007, the economic, valuation and political background does not support the budding euphoria. [Let us explain precisely why that is the case.] Words: 680

The mainstream financial press would like us to believe that because the S&P 500 and Dow 30 are at or near their record highs that it must mean we're nearing the end of the current bull market and, as such, now must be a terrible time to buy stocks. Let's not jump to any conclusions, though. Instead, let's do our own due diligence to find out. Hint: If you've been stuffing cash under the mattress since the last market crash, you might want to finally go deposit it in your brokerage account. Here's why... Words: 420

[In spite of the Dow now being at] a record high the Risk Premium Factor (RPF) Valuation Model shows that the broader market, based on S&P 500, is still undervalued by about 5%. [Let me explain further.] Words: 550; Charts: 1

History shows that when investors experience a rapid decline in the amount of available cash in their brokerage account to spend/invest quickly such "negative net worth" leads to major corrections in the stock market. Currently such is the case so can we expect another such decline or will it be different this time?

Since the late 1800's, the Dow has experienced three periods where it traded sideways, ranging from 13 to 17 years, [which always] resulted in upside breakouts . The S&P 500 finds itself within a few percentage points of where it was 13 years ago [so the question is "Has the time now come for the Dow and S&P 500 to once again go Up, UP and Awaaay?" Let's take a look at some charts.] Words: 299; Charts: 2

The Swimsuit Issue Indicator says that U.S. equity markets perform better in years when an American appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual issue as opposed to years when a non-American appears on the cover. [What is the nationality of this year's cover model? Can we expect returns above the norm or will we see a year of underperformance for the S&P 500 this year? Read on.] Words: 323 ; Table: 1

Investors are more bullish now than at any time since 2002 but the current rally has not been fueled by improved prospects of actual growth and wealth creation. Instead, it’s mostly due to 1) investors desperate for income denied them elsewhere by central bank policies; 2) printed stimulus cash seeking a home and 3) sheer technical momentum but nowhere do they seem to be considering market risk - the risk that your investment will lose value because it gets dragged down in a falling market. Words: 615

Higher (lower) inflation expectations have remained closely bound with higher (lower) stock prices [of late but] this odd connection won't last forever...[but] until that changes, it's best to go with the flow....[This article explains] the new abnormal. Words: 266