Fitness tracker or a smartwatch? Well, that’s a question that was asked a couple of years ago, but plainly put to rest over the last 2 years. Utility and price point have been the two determining factors when it comes to wearable adoption. Fitness trackers have outsold smartwatches by more than 3:1 over the last couple of years and since the wearable market took shape in the mainstream consumer market. Fitness trackers are simpler to use than smartwatches and can stand alone with code, logic, sensors and relays within their encasements. Smartwatches are quite cumbersome, lacking for battery life, require a host operating system (OS), at...
With U.S. markets up over 300% since the March 2009 lows and continuing to set new all-time highs, where are investors to look for future returns?1 Although U.S. valuations are stretched compared to developed international (specifically Japan) and emerging markets, we think the pro-growth policies and potential tax cuts put forward by the new administration can help drive earnings growth for U.S. companies, which in our opinion would help the market rally continue. With investing, nothing can be certain, and because valuation risks are elevated in the U.S., we think it is prudent to incorporate a risk-managed approach such as an option str...
European bourses advance and Asian share rose led by a surge in Hong Kong stocks which rose the most in three months as Japan hit 15 month highs. U.S. futures are little changed along while the dollar rebounded from session lows after Friday’s selloff. Crude oil has continued its retreat, down 0.2% and sliding for a 6th straight day after breifly dropping below $48 in overnight trading. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped the most since November amid easing concern that U.S.-China political tensions will weigh on the yuan after BlackStone’s Steve Schwarzman, one of Trump’s top economic advisers, said Sunday on CNN t...
Red ink spilled across nearly every corner of the global markets last week, based on a set of exchange-traded products representing the major asset classes. The lone exception: foreign stocks in developed markets in US dollar terms. Otherwise, losses took a toll far and wide. Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA) bucked the trend, posting a slight gain of 0.1% for the five trading days through Friday (Mar. 10). The advance pushed the fund near its highest close since the summer of 2015. Last week’s biggest loser: real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the US. Vanguard REIT (VNQ) fell a hefty 4.5% last week. Weighed down by the expectati...
Hit by profit-taking ahead of the weekend, despite US jobs data that remove the last hurdle to another Fed hike this week, the greenback remains on the defensive. It has softened against all the major currencies and many of the emerging market currencies.The chief exception is those in eastern and central Europe. Turkey and Dutch tensions rose over the weekend as the Dutch refused to the leftTurkey’s foreign minister to enter the country to campaign, took another minister to the border, earning the wrath of Turkey’s Erdogan. The Dutch go to polls Wednesday. The Rutte government is credited with handling the affair we...
Yellen is Likely to Raise Interest Rates on Wednesday This Week.. Two important benchmarks are now within reach – the inflation target of 2%, and maximum employment. For the Federal Reserve Bank, these joint targets act as the barometer of the health of the US economy. Currently, the US unemployment rate for February 2017 is 4.7% – the lowest figure since December 2016. The US jobless rate plunged to 4.7%, from the forecast figure of 4.8% for February 2017. The total number of unemployed persons in the US remained unchanged at 7.5 million, while the LFPR (labour force participation rate) edged 0.1% higher to 63%. Among individual groups, ...
After the big surge higher that we had just two Wednesdays ago, the stock market really hasn’t gone anywhere, in fact, the tendency has been to sell any and all rallies that come our way. That may persist into the week ahead. Stocks symbols and their respective charts are decaying underneath the surface but indices still remain at or near their all-time highs. The focus, in large part should be placed on large cap stocks as it is the small caps that are underperforming right now. With that said, enjoy the list of stocks below and I look forward to trading with you all this week. Here’s the stock symbols to watch: Long Advisor...
Oil prices hit their lowest in three months during Monday’s Asian session despite OPECs’s commitment to cut production. The price drop resulted predominantly from the continued addition of U.S. oil rigs for the eighth consecutive week. U.S. crude inventories rose last week by 8.2 million barrels, reported the Energy Information Association. Brent crude fell 35 cents per barrel a 0.68 percent drop, to trade at $51.02 per barrel, its lowest price since November 30. U.S. WTI crude plummeted 0.87 percent to $48.07 per barrel, a 42 cent decline. Brent crude had also fallen 1.6 percent on Friday. Currency Market Movements The euro firmed 0.2 pe...
The markets are heading into a crucial week which promises a mix of politics and monetary policies. This week will be marked by central bank meetings from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Swiss National Bank, the BoJ and Bank of England. From these meetings, the FOMC is widely expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points. On the political front, the Netherlands will be going to polls on March 15th. Here’s a quick recap of this week’s events that will influence the currency markets. Third rate hike from the Fed expected this week All roads lead to the U.S. Federal Reserve this Wednesday as the central bank is poised to push the rate hik...
The pound got a beating on Brexit worries and the implications of a weak pound on consumption. Will the BOE respond? What does it mean for EUR/GBP? Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: Danske Bank does not expect Bank of England (BoE) to make any policy changes at its March meeting this week. “We expect BoE to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.25%, while leaving the targets for the stock of government bond purchases (APF) and the stock of corporate bond purchases (CBPS) unchanged at GBP435bn and GBP10bn, respectively. We do not expect any changes to the Term Funding Scheme (TFS) either. Moreover, Danske still expects the BoE to remain on ho...