The US Commerce Department reported today that the US had expanded at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, below consensus expectation of 3 percent. Furthermore, farmers helped boost numbers by refilling their silos after last year’s devastating drought sharply decreased crop output. Net of this transitory… Read More

After its worst one-day plunge in more than 30 years, gold recovered modestly, to around the $1,400 mark. Gold’s recent precipitous drop was so extreme, that the decline marked a 3 standard deviation fall from its 34-week moving average. Statistically, the probability of such an event is nearly zero. But… Read More

After the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both set new record highs yesterday, stocks today are taking a breather. Government data showed that March retail sales fell by the most in 9 months. Meanwhile, The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for April slipped to 72.3… Read More

In the same week that major stock indexes—the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500—set new record closing highs, equities will nevertheless book their worst weekly decline so far this year. The Labor Department today reported that the US private sector had added just 95,000 net jobs in March,… Read More

(Due to the Good Friday holiday, this week, we are publishing our Market Update on Thursday rather than Friday. Next week, we will resume our regular schedule.) Despite the European debt crisis again rearing its ugly head, the stock market in the US continues to edge higher. The S&P 500… Read More

This week has been all about Cyprus, the small island country off the southern coast of Turkey, whose economy is only about half a percent of the total euro zone GDP. Nevertheless, in the common currency bloc, big problems in one seemingly insignificant member can create major worries. Cypriot banks… Read More

Earlier this week we picked Bruce Berkowitz’s brain and added two of his favorites, Sears Holdings (SHLD) and St. Joe Company (JOE), to our portfolio. It’s no secret that Sears’ retail business is in serious trouble and a turnaround will be difficult. However, the stock’s value resides in Sears’ substantial… Read More

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that in February the U.S. added 246,000 net jobs in the private sector, and 236,000 overall, including a 10,000 decrease in the public sector, much better than economists’ forecasts. This is the biggest single month increase since February of last year. The headline… Read More

It has been an interesting week, to say the least. After a very close and divided national election that left Italy’s next leadership in doubt, the S&P 500 booked its worst one-day performance since last November. Negotiations to form a coalition government are ongoing and the situation remains fluid. A… Read More

After a two day correction, stocks are poised to break their brief losing streak and finish Friday in the green thanks to a report that German business confidence has jumped to a ten-month high. The stock rally so far this year was overdue for a breather, anyway. Investors used the… Read More

Earlier this week, we added Energy XXI (EXXI) to our portfolio, following the leads of SAC Capital Advisors’ Steve Cohen and Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman. The company is an oil and gas explorer and producer with operations and interests primarily offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore along the… Read More

Shares of ViaSat (VSAT) surged 24 percent yesterday after the company reported much better than expected results for the final quarter of 2012. The Street had expected a 22 cent per share loss, but ViaSat actually earned profit of 4 cents per share (adjusted for a charge for early extinguishment… Read More

After a two-day pause, stocks are rallying today, driven by strong economic data. The S&P 500 is poised to finish the week at yet another new five-year high and is within striking distance of the all-time record of 1565 reached in October of 2007. Earlier in the week, the Commerce… Read More

Today, the S&P 500 looks to extend its winning streak to 8 days. The market index has finished in the green for 7 straight trading sessions and has broken the 1500 mark for the first time since 2007. The rally has been driven by decent recent economic data, largely good… Read More

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped to a one-year low reading of 71.3. The 2-percentage point hike in Social Security payroll taxes, in addition to the bad taste from the wrangling in Washington over the debt ceiling likely played a role. Still, the bigger… Read More

We have entered the latest earnings season. Aluminum producer and general economic bellwether Alcoa kicked the season off to a solid start by reporting that demand from China has clearly rebounded and that Europe wasn’t doing as poorly as many believed. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi added to the… Read More

Stocks opened 2013 with the best single-day rally in more than a year. The fiscal cliff negotiations indeed went down to the wire. Shortly after Vice President Biden – who serves as the President of the Senate – and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed on the terms of a fiscal… Read More

The sense of urgency is clear: President Obama cut his Christmas vacation short to return to Washington, The Senate is already back in session, and The House of Representatives is going to convene on Sunday to try to come up with something before the fiscal cliff deadline. While President Obama… Read More

All this past week, the U.S. stocks have taken their cues from Washington. The daily swings have clearly been correlated with news reports on fiscal cliff progress or lack thereof, with equities flying on the days when progress was reportedly being made, and selling off on the days like today. Read More

Although markets continue to focus their attention on the fiscal cliff, another story out of Washington has also captured headlines: the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision this week to expand its balance sheet once again. The Fed is pledging to buy long-dated Treasury bonds at an… Read More