What is the price of lumber telling us about the housing market?
Housing is very important to the overall economy and a robust housing market is a huge driver of growth. Last week’s housing report was better than expected. Housing starts in the U.S. jumped 20.2% in April and building permits were up 10%. Additionally, single-family housing starts rose 16.7% from March, and 15% when compared to […]
Why Investing in Fixed Income is Difficult in Today’s Market
Two weeks ago, there was over $5 trillion invested globally in bonds priced with negative interest rates. Stated another way, people who bought these bonds are paying someone to use their money! At the same time, money market funds are yielding close to zero. Mexico recently issued an interesting bond. The bond was denominated in […]
Key to Investing: Patience
Back in the late 90’s, many people wanted to become day traders by selling one overpriced technology stock to buy a different overpriced stock. People thought of investing as a short-term gamble. When we look at an investment, we look at it over a three to five year time horizon. Sometimes, an investment will work […]
Where In the Market Can You Find Stable & Growing Yields?
It was just a few short years ago that the energy picture in the United States (“US”) looked bleak. The projections showed that we had only a twenty-year supply of natural gas. Because of new technology in fracking, the US is experiencing an energy renaissance. However, until there is more technological breakthrough, we are still […]
Boring Market Returns For A Volatile Quarter
The first quarter is coming to a close and if someone was in hibernation for the past three months, they did not miss much as it relates to the stock market. The Dow Industrials are up just under 1% so far this year (including today’s big market move higher). We did experience some volatility during […]
Time to Travel Abroad and Eat Well?
Mark and his wife Nancy just booked a family trip to Germany for this spring. If they had taken the trip two years ago, it would have cost them 30% more as one Euro cost $1.40 then and only costs $1.06 now. So, although we are obviously not travel consultants, for those looking to […]
Negative Yielding German Bonds – Where is the Logic?
“Do I have a great deal for you?” I have an investment to buy today, and in five years from now, you are guaranteed to lose money if you hold to maturity. Don’t worry though; you will make money in the short run. How, you ask? You will be able to sell it to someone […]
EMERGING MARKETS – NET WINNERS FROM FALLING OIL PRICES
Oil reached its peak in the United States at over $140 a barrel in July of 2008. After the “Great Recession”, oil rose but did not get close to its peak of 2008. Conversely, as oil is priced globally in dollars and because of the strength of the US dollar, other countries saw oil peak […]
THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN 2015
It is always dangerous to make predictions, especially for an entire year. However, reasoned judgments should be considered for their potential impact on investments. Here are our general thoughts going into the New Year: 1) Vladimir Putin will not sit idly by as falling energy prices put pressure on the Russian economy. He currently has […]
BULL MARKET? – ONLY IF YOU ARE IN US LARGE COMPANIES
In 1998, the world experienced a strong dollar and a drop in oil prices. At that time, the only place to invest was in a few large cap stocks. We are seeing a complete replay of that scenario today. If you listen to the folks on CNBC, the stock market is in a bull market […]