Trading Ideas

Investors were spooked through most of October. At one point, the year’s market gains were entirely erased. Now, despite signals of recovery, a degree of caution is to be expected.

The darling FAANG stocks took it especially hard last month. Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) had almost $120 billion wiped off its trillion-dollar market cap in a matter of days. And shares in Google parent company Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG) fell sharply after a mixed third quarter earnings report.

Even a rosy third quarter earnings report couldn’t protect Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) from the bloodletting. The media company saw a 30% drop in share price over …read more […]

Insider trading doesn’t have a great connotation.

Martha Stewart (or M. Diddy, as she was known in the slammer) and current halfway house resident (and former Enron CEO) Jeff Skilling are the usual suspects that come to mind. They’re seen as slimy and dishonest for making money on inside information.

But in reality, anytime a CEO, board member or management-level employee of a corporation buys shares of the company he or she works for, they’re often buying on information not yet widely known to the public. And contrary to popular belief, it isn’t (usually) a crime.

When an insider changes their holdings in …read more […]

Did you know that if you ever see a service dog unattended, you should follow it?

That dog has been specially trained to find help for its owner when he or she is in danger. You and your cellphone could make a very important difference.

The chances of this actually happening are pretty slim. But knowing something that could be helpful in the future is always a good idea.

According to a recent survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, some 85% of fund managers believe that worldwide growth is in the late stages of an economic cycle.

While this is only conjecture, …read more […]

The latest jobs report was rolled out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last week. In case you haven’t heard, the unemployment rate in the U.S. hit 3.7%. That’s the lowest it’s been since December 1969.

Additionally, the closely tracked wage growth report signaled that wages grew 2.8% from 2017.

These statistics indicate an increasingly healthy labor market. And wages are being driven higher to attract an increasingly sparse supply of workers.

But we’re not quite there yet. Despite rising wages, the American worker is still undervalued.

The current rate of wage growth still puts us below the 3.5% needed to compensate for …read more […]

When 24-year-old Warren Buffett received a phone call offering him a job in New York City, he accepted without asking about the salary.

It was arguably the smartest – and most profitable – decision he ever made.

That’s because Buffett knew the man who had just employed him – a man he studied under at Columbia University – held the proverbial keys to the kingdom.

His name was Benjamin Graham.

Years earlier, Buffett had offered to work for Graham for free. But Buffett was kindly turned down.

Years later, he finally got his wish (and with pay).

Even so, Buffett’s life was about to change in …read more […]

With Halloween about a month away, my apologies if the mere mention of Christmas induces a groan.

But next week marks the beginning of the fourth and final fiscal quarter of the year… and that inevitably means holiday chatter.

Whether you’re practicing your best Grinch impression or joyfully anticipating Michael Bublé’s return from hibernation, the Ghost of Christmas Past has an important public service announcement.

The chart above shows that 38 of the previous 50 fourth quarter returns for the S&P 500 have been positive.

That bodes well for the seemingly endless bull market run we’re in… especially considering the S&P is on the …read more […]

We’ve all heard it before: Higher risks demand higher rewards.

Most investors take this statement as gospel. But it was only until the 1950s that the idea became popular, when economist Harry Markowitz laid the foundation for Modern Portfolio Theory.

The theory describes the proper relationship between risk and reward in portfolio construction.

Today’s chart shows that theory at work in the real world.

To do this, we’re taking another look at the corporate bond market – again comparing default rates per bond credit rating to their effective yields.

Last week, I broke down the corporate bond market to reveal how increasing levels of default …read more […]

The performance of Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX series have been disappointing, Morgan Stanley says. Software supporting the expensive new graphics cards is still limited, and the new product cycle could show a slower growth in adoption compared to its previous cycle, analysts said. Nvidia’s new graphic-card performance is disappointing, and it could be some time before the cards drive growth for the company’s gaming business, Morgan Stanley says. …read more […]

The utility is the latest energy company to take its master limited partnership private after a government policy change cut into its cash flow. …read more […]

Analysts are starting to worry about DRAM pricing, predicting a rougher 2019. …read more […]

General Electric Co said on Thursday that four of its flagship power turbines in the United States have been shut down due to a problem with turbine blades that was discovered at an electrical power plant … …read more […]

The problem was discovered a few weeks ago on turbine blades in a natural gas-fueled turbine, known as the 7HA, operated by Exelon Corp (EXC.N) in Texas, GE told Reuters. “We expect the same issue will impact other HA units,” GE spokesman Chris Shigas said in an email. If the problem persists GE might need to pay compensation to customers and make costly design changes. …read more […]

Authorities are trying to figure out why a software company employee opened fire inside his Wisconsin office, armed with a pistol and extra ammunition, and seriously wounded several of his colleagues before he was fatally shot by police. Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke said the motive behind the Wednesday morning attack at WTS Paradigm wasn’t immediately clear. The name of the suspect hasn’t been released, but police said he worked at the company and lived in nearby Madison. …read more […]

“Competition still remains an issue,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. Initial signs from channel checks and online sales are that Nike is also set to get a boost from a controversial ad campaign, launched earlier this month, featuring former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. …read more […]

The results are in, and Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 sedan has been awarded five stars in all crash tests conducted by the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The ratings are a relief after months of Tesla crashes making headlines — particularly with incidents involving the company’s driver-assistance system Autopilot. Tesla has made controversial assertions about data related to the safety of Autopilot, and both the company and NHTSA have resisted releasing data to back up claims made in the wake of a fatal crash involving a Model X crossover in March. …read more […]