Bond traders test the Powell Put today
U.S. stocks dropped again today with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed down another 0.69% to 2783.03. U.S. Treasury bonds rallied with the price of the 10-yer bond up enough to push the yield down to 2.21% for a drop in yield of 26 basis points in the...
16 months on the S&P 500 with no gain–what’s it mean?
I have my theories about this–which I’ll post tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28 in a Special Report on my subscription JubakAM.com site –and the facts certainly deserve an explanation. About 16 months ago on January 26, 2018 the Standard & Poor’s...
No news is good news so far this weekend
U.S. financial markets are closed today for Memorial Day. (Can’t help but think of my Dad who climbed telephone poles to string wire during World War II. “While they shot at me,” he would say with a mixture of surprise and outrage. I’m sure you...
Further lowering China exposure in my portfolios
This morning Wall Street is buzzing with talk that the U.S.-China trade war could stretch on to 2035. I think there’s just about no chance of that. But we aren’t looking at the quick resolution of the dispute that seemed possible just 10 days ago. And we...
Stocks routed on shift in trade war sentiment
You’re entitled to feel whiplashed today. Just a few days ago, on May 16, stocks rallied on speculation that trade talks would resume relatively quickly and that the United States and China, rhetoric and tariff increases aside, would find a way within weeks to...
Oil and oil stocks take double hit today
The combination of a big build in U.S. crude inventories this week and fears that the escalating U.S.-China trade war will slow global economic growth (and global oil demand) took a big whack out of oil prices and oil stocks today. The U.S. Energy Information...
Federal Reserve minutes say, No interest rate move “for some time”
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April 30-May 1 meeting showed officials at the U.S. central bank inclined toward patience and to keeping the current wait-and-see policy in place “for some time.” Adding to the dovish tone of the minutes, many Fed...
Down yesterday, up today–traders buy the chip stocks they sold yesterday on Huawei headlines
Stocks–especially chip stocks–have rallied strongly today on headlines saying that the Department of Commerce has granted a 90-day license for U.S. companies to do business with China’s Huawei Technologies in order to service existing networks. This...
Beijing says, If the U.S. won’t play nice, China won’t play at all
The Chinese government is using the country’s official media to signal that it isn’t interested in resuming trade talks with the United States under a threat of higher 25% tariffs on another $320 billion in Chinese exports to the United States. And to make...
China warns that U.S. sanctions against Huawei could endanger trade talks
It’s not even remotely a surprise. A day after the Trump administration declared a national emergency in order to product U.S. telecommunications for foreign antagonists–with a clear eye on China and Chinese companies such as Huawei–the Chinese...
The market is dangerously dependent on the Powell Put from the Fed
Right now if the market gets bad news on the economy it goes up. Today, May 15, for example, the S&P 500 closed up 0.78% even though both U.S. and Chinese retail sales disappointed for April. Right now if the market gets bad news on oil supplies, it goes up, as...
Recent weakness good opportunity to pick up Disney for patient, long-term investors
Every so often the calendar and the movie release schedule give patient long-term investors a chance to buy Disney (DIS) on some mild weakness. That’s where we are now. The stock pulled back slightly after the company announced first quarter earnings on May 9 of...
Tariffs up, talks end, Chinese retaliation next
Whatever the ultimate end point of the trade talks between the United State and China, the next step is almost certainly the announcement of retaliatory measures by China in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion of...
U.S. stock market wants to believe U.S.-China talks are “constructive”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 was slightly in the green at the close today at 2881.40. That marked a big turnaround from earlier in the session. As of 11 a.m. New York time the index had dipped to 2826.29. Today it was all about China and the trade/tariff talks...
Rational self-interest argues for a successful conclusion of U.S.-China trade talks in the long run; in the short run it argues that the talks will fall apart first
It is clearly in the self interest of both President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping to reach an agreement that would bring the U.S.-China trade war to an end. In the long-run. That same calculus, however, argues that in the short run both leaders will let the...
Another analyst capitulates to “fear of being left out”
If this market runs out of bears, I think it’s in trouble. And today one of the market’s few remaining bears capitulated to the rally. Wells Fargo’s head of equity strategy Christopher Harvey hiked his year-end price target for the Standard &...
Buffett gets paid to turn Chevron/Occidental battle over Anadarko upside down–but what about Occidental shareholders?
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) has brought Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) into its battle with Chevron (CVX) for control of Permian-Basin-rich Anadarko Petroleum (APC). Up until the entry of Buffett, Chevron had the inside edge even though it had offered a...
More of the same in today’s economic data: low inflation, good growth in consumer spending, but lagging incomes
Put today’s numbers on the economy together with those in Friday’s first quarter GDP report and the picture that emerges is of a U.S. economy growing at s very solid rate with declining inflation. But where the trends on consumer incomes and spending...
Official figures show improvement in China’s economy in March
China’s economy expanded at 6.4% year over year in March. That beat the 6.3% expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. That projected 6.3% growth itself marked a step up in optimism about China’s economy. Other official numbers reported over night...
Adding Parsley Energy to my Jubak Picks Portfolio
When I set out to research and write my recent Special Report Five Sector Facing Disruption That Could Crush Your Portfolio I wanted to focus on the “destruction” side of the process of “creative destruction” that makes up economic growth in...
The Great (short-term) China Boom debate
Everybody seems to agree that things are looking up for the Chinese economy. The real disagreement is about how long this improvement might last and whether there’s any chance that the upturn might go from improvement to boom. Here’s some of the data that...
Permian goes from tepid to red hot again on Chevron bid for Anadarko
Chevron (CVX) has agreed to buy Anadarko Petroleum (APC) for $33 billion in cash and stock. On the news shares of Anadarko are up 32.5% to $61.85. Shares of Chevron are off 4.91% to $119.81.Meaured by oil and natural gas production, the deal puts Chevron neck-and-neck...
Making Incyte #9 on my 10 most dangerous stocks for earnings season list–and #5 on my buy on any plunge list
Today on my JubakAM.com subscription site I made Incyte #9 in my 10 Most dangerous Stocks for Earnings Season Special Report–and #5 on my Buy on Any Plunge Bonus Special Report. Here’s what I wrote: “There’s a good chance that Incyte (INCY)...
Numbers on factory orders and durable goods show economy remains in not-too-strong, not-too-weak Goldilocks track
Business investment remained weak according to this mornings report on durable goods. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft–a measure of business investment–remained weak in February, falling 0.1% for the month. However, shipments of...
Jobs numbers show solid but slow growth in U.S. economy
The U.S. economy added 196,000 net new jobs in March. That’s a huge increase from the 33,000 jobs added in February (revised upward from the original 20,000) and showed that the plunge in the February jobs total was an aberration. Economists surveyed by...
Unsettling market risk potential for Thursday and Friday
Today, Wednesday April 3, action in the three legs that support stocks near the highs for 2019 pointed toward significant risk for Thursday and Friday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed the day up 0.21% at 2873. Leg 1 for the market: The financials,...
Is President Trump serious about closing the U.S. border with Mexico?
President Trump has ordered White House officials to find a way to shut the U.S. border with Mexico while exempting commercial trade from the closure. I don’t know if the President is serious–it could be a negotiating ploy designed to bring pressure on...
Selling Diamondback Energy out of my Jubak Picks portfolio today
Diamondback Energy (FANG) made #5 in my Special Report on the 10 most dangerous stocks this earnings season that I’m posting on my paid JubakAM.com site. And I’m selling it out of my Jubak Picks Portfolio today, April 1. If you’re looking for...
The world’s bond markets stop to think about whether the rally has gone too far
It’s all my fault. I go away for two days to tour colleges with my daughter, and global bond markets soar as everybody in the world decides to seek safety simultaneously. Today’s pause has very little to do with my return to my desk. The rise in bond...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
Every post from Jubak Picks straight to your mailbox. And they're free!
Get Even More Jim!
- • More profiles of hot (and cold) sectors
- • More strategies for profiting from volatility
- • More about macro trends driving the market
- • More on where the market is heading – short-, medium- and long-term – including a Saturday Night Quarterback look at the week ahead!
Subscribe now for a year for just $199
