I was speaking with a friend about the financial markets’ moves in 2016. As is usually the case, the market didn’t go quite as most thought it would. We started off the roller-coaster year with a big China-inspired sell-off that lasted through mid-February. Then we rebounded robustly from mid-February though late June. That late-June swoon

The market finished the final trading session of an incredible year in negative territory, as traders digested the post-election gains. All the major indices ended lower Friday, and for the week stocks also finished in the red. The Dow was down 0.86% on the week while the S&P 500 lost 1.10%. The NASDAQ Composite was

It is the holiday season, and I hope your celebration is replete with the joy of giving and receiving gifts to and from friends and family. Now, I’m big on giving gifts that keep on giving, meaning that I like giving and receiving gifts of knowledge. This year, I have a few holiday presents that

Stocks finally slowed down a bit from the recent Trump-inspired rally, as the major averages went into the Christmas break with a slow grind to only small pre-holiday gains. For the week, the Dow added a slight 0.46% while the S&P 500 edged 0.25% higher. The NASDAQ Composite was up 0.47% over the past five,

It is the holiday season, and I hope your celebration is replete with the joy of giving and receiving gifts to and from friends and family. Now, I’m big on giving gifts that keep on giving, meaning that I like giving and receiving gifts of knowledge. This year, I have a few holiday presents that

For most of the past four weeks, the market’s been moving higher due to the “Trump bump,” i.e., the optimism and expectations of renewed economic growth, lower taxes, lower regulation and fiscal stimulus from the incoming administration.   This week, that rally was put on pause, as the major market-moving event wasn’t about Trump… it

The big market-moving news this week was the Fed, and its decision to raise interest rates for the first time in a year. That move on Wednesday by Janet Yellen and her fellow central bankers was widely expected. What wasn’t anticipated was the ratcheting up of rate-hike expectations for 2017. The Fed “dots,” which are

We waited until the Fed announcement to update you on our invested positions in ETF Trader’s Edge today. With respect to the decision itself, the 0.25% rate hike was expected by the markets and us. The most interesting aspect of the announcement today was that the decision was unanimous, with even the most dovish of […]

The Trump rally continued this week, with the major averages logging another big move to the upside on their way to several new, all-time highs. The Dow surged 3.06% over the past five trading sessions while the S&P 500 jumped 3.08%. The NASDAQ Composite had an even better showing, finishing the week with a 3.59% […]

If you’ve been paying even cursory attention to the markets since Election Day, you already know that stocks here in the United States have been on a tear. All three major indices — the Dow Industrials, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite — have made a series of new, all-time closing highs since the election of Donald J.