Four times a year big-time money managers are required to file form 13F with the SEC. This always sparks news stories naming the most important investors, people like George Soros and Warren Buffett, and drawing conclusions about what they are doing. The implication is that you might benefit from looking over their shoulders. You won’t! The information is worse than worthless — it is misleading. Here is why, the three things you should know: The reports are old news. The law provides 45 days to file after the end of the quarter and there is no incentive to be early. The process for filing has been streamlined for the modern age, but the...
One popular approach to investing based on Benjamin Graham’s methods is to use the so-called “Graham Number.” There are some important differences between the Graham Number and the Graham Formula, but using the Graham Number is definitely useful even if the investor only uses it as a screening tactic. I’ve selected the best companies reviewed by ModernGraham which trade below their Graham Number. The companies selected all are found suitable for the Defensive Investor and/or the Enterprising Investor, and have been valued as undervalued based on the ModernGraham valuation model. Further, the overall screen found 39 companies meeting...
The Dow dropped 180 points yesterday – or about 1%. And another clever billionaire says he is looking elsewhere for profits. Reuters: Activist investor Carl Icahn on Monday said there was a chance the stock market could suffer a big decline, saying valuations are rich and earnings at many companies are fueled more by low borrowing costs than management’s efforts to boost results. “I am very cautious on equities today. This market could easily have a big drop,” Icahn said. Yes, dear reader, the smart money is getting out of U.S. stocks. And here’s our old friend Rob Marstrand explaining why: Right now, every measure that analyzes the...
If this was an opportunity to keep a June hike on the cards, the Fed certainly took it. We were skeptical, but the dollar certainly reacted positively, even if a hike is not a done deal. In any case, here are two different opinions: Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: FOMC Minutes: Hawkish Fed Considering June Hike; All Eyes On Eco Data – SEB It was our take that the FOMC decision at the April meeting was hawkish since the Fed evidently kept the door ajar to rate hikes in upcoming meetings. For one thing, the Fed did not seem overly worried about the weak growth in the first quarter; while growth was downgraded from “moderate” to ...
TM editors’ note: This article discusses a penny stock and/or microcap. Such stocks are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence. I saw the news on May 9th on USA Today and on Fortune “John McAfee is back in business“. Hindsight is always 20/20, and in hindsight, I should have backed up the truck and loaded with as many shares of MGT as I could afford! Hindsight always makes things so clear! In all seriousness, I knew that anytime you see a penny stock company making the front pages it’s going to be a big mover. It just attracted so much retail interest with the PR of McAfee coming back. McAfee, a pioneer of virus sca...
Photo Credit: Mike Mozart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) Consumer Discretionary – Food & Staples Retailing | Reports May 19, Before Market Opens Key Takeaways The Estimize consensus is calling for earnings of 89 cents per share on $112.73 billion in revenue, 1 cent higher than Wall Street on the bottom line and right in line on the top Walmart’s biggest threat over the past 5 years has come from Amazon Walmart’s business model as a discount retailer has transformed into a one-stop shop including gas stations, pharmacies and groceries at brick and mortar stores, as well as a burgeoning online platform What are you expecting for W...
EURUSD: With EURUSD selling off strongly on Wednesday, we envisage more weakness in the days ahead. Support lies at the 1.1150 level. Further down, support comes in at the 1.1100 level where a violation will aim at the 1.1050 level. A break of here will target the 1.1000 level. Its daily RSI is bearish and pointing lower suggesting further weakness. Conversely, on the upside, resistance comes in at 1.1250 level with a cut through here opening the door for more upside towards the 1.1300 level. Further up, resistance lies at the 1.1350 level where a break will expose the 1.1400 level. All in all, EURUSD faces further move lower on bear pressure...
This is not my kind of trade, and it is definitely not strategic. However, there may be a decent risk/reward in the expiring SPY options. SPY as many of you know is the largest option market in the US, and has all sorts of feedback with actual stock prices. The options that expire this Friday have an abnormal open interest at the 205 strike. Strike OI 195 178K 200 149 205 393 210 201 Many of you have already noticed that, in the absence of new fundamentals, prices tend to go to the strike with heavy OI. There is good reason for this. As time to expiration goes to zero, the near-the-money options have very high gammas. For example, o...
Podcast: Play in new window | Play in new window (Duration: 13:16 — 6.1MB) DOW – 3 = 17,526 SPX + 0.42 = 2047 NAS + 23 = 4739 10 Y + .12 = 1.88% OIL – .12 = 48.19 GOLD – 20.80 = 1259.00 There’s an old saying “don’t fight the Fed.” The Fed has indicated that if the data points to a rate hike, they would be prepared to hike rates in June. The markets have not reflected the Fed’s position. The CME’s Fed Watch tool, which uses fed fund futures trading levels to determine the likelihood of a hike at each meeting, indicates that a better than 50 percent chance of a move doesn’t happen until the December FOMC session. Wit...