SET Monthly Issues
SET Monthly Issue February 2016
Finances, Floor Plans, And A Flood Of First-Time Home Buyers There are at least two schools of thought on the homebuilding business. Possible interest rate increases will spur more buyers to buy a home before mortgage rates go up even more. Or the increases – if they hit – will blockade buyers and slow the homebuilding […]
SET Monthly Issue January 2016
Has The Bear Market Already Started? Stocks are off to a dreadful start in 2016. The S&P 500 is down 11% from the 52-week highs. It’s not even close to the 20% drop needed to be an official bear market. Yet, you can’t read, watch, or listen to anything about the financial markets without hearing […]
SET Monthly Issue December 2015
Ready Or Not – Higher Interest Rates Are Coming The Fed is poised to end its zero-interest-rate policy (ZIRP) this week. This policy has been in place since the 2008 financial crisis. Under ZIRP, the Fed has kept interest rates near 0% and used periods of quantitative easing or bond buying to help boost asset prices […]
SET Monthly Issue November 2015
Retail Stocks Ready For A Repeat Performance Of 2014 Terrorism struck the civilized world again over the weekend. This time the attackers hit Paris. The horrific events and loss of life are tragic. My heart goes out to those that have been impacted by these events. Needless to say, terrorism is back at the top of […]
SET Monthly Issue October 2015
Earnings Versus The Fed – What Will Drive The Markets Next Move? Right now new information is coming at us on a daily basis. And it’s a challenge to make heads or tails of it. The environment is so difficult that many hedge funds are throwing in the towel. More than 400 hedge funds simply […]
SET Monthly Issue September 2015
Is This A Peak For US Stocks Before They Roll Over? It’s been a crazy rollercoaster ride for US stocks over the last month. The S&P 500 had its first 10% correction in years. Now the S&P 500 is down 7% over the last month. And that’s after a 4.5% bounce off the recent low. As […]
SET Monthly Issue August 2015
Defending The Internet From Cyberattacks So far the summer of 2015 has been a forgettable one for US stocks. Right now the S&P 500 is up a paltry 3.4% year-to-date. Over the last six months, the large cap index has gyrated up 1%… down 1%… up 2%… down 2%… and going nowhere fast. What’s more, we’re […]
SET Monthly Issue July 2015
These Drugs Are Good For Your Portfolio It’s been an interesting summer for the financial markets, to say the least. There has been more than enough noise from China and Europe to last a lifetime. Thankfully Greece has agreed to their creditors’ demands. They’ve once again kicked the can far enough down the road that it’s […]
SET Monthly Issue June 2015
Enough Is Enough A month ago, the S&P 500 was breaking out of a multi-month consolidation pattern to reach new all-time highs. But the volatility in fixed income, currencies, Greek debt, and uncertainty about the timing of the first interest rate hike in the US put a lid on the gains for stocks. As you […]
SET Monthly Issue May 2015
Time For Liftoff? So far 2015 hasn’t been a bad year for stocks. The S&P 500 is at an all-time high of 2130 and up 4% for the year. But the path here has been full ups and downs. Many investors were positioned for the US economy to accelerate in Q1. Along with it were […]
