Opinions

We are three days away from Christmas and just over a week from the New Year. This is the perfect time to look over your portfolio and holdings in the stock market. To get set for trading in the stock market in 2015, take some winners if you haven’t already

Russia remains in the headlines again, but no due to President Putin’s outrageous actions or aggressive stances but the country is standing on the edge of the abyss as the worse financial crisis to hit the Eurasian country in many years unfolds.  The 8th largest economy is in a state

As silver prices started to decline last year, silver mining companies halted projects where costs were too high in relation to the new reality of silver prices.   According to a report produced for the Silver Institute and created by Thomson Reuters GFMS, in 2013, the silver supply fell to

More good numbers are coming down the earnings pipeline, and if the broader stock market is going to take a well-deserved rest, corporate results are a positive indicator going into 2015.   Global Payments Inc. (GPN) is a very good business in terms of its financial growth. The Atlanta-based company

The fundamentals that drive gold prices higher are in full force and improving. Central banks are buying more of the precious metal (to add to their reserves), while countries that are known to be big consumers of gold bullion post increased demand. According to the India Bullion & Jewellers’ Association,

Despite the choppy trading action before the end of the third quarter, a lot of the market’s best stocks are still ticking higher. And the positive trading action remains especially prevalent with large-caps and dividend-paying blue chips.  Big investors want earnings reliability and dividend income in a slow-growth environment. It’s

Tomorrow, Oracle Corporation (ORCL) reports its numbers for its first fiscal quarter of 2015. What the company has to say about its business conditions is material to the equity market.  Oracle is a benchmark technology stock that’s not expensively priced. The company offers dividends; its current yield is approximately 1.2%,

Since May, when it was near an all-time low, the U.S. dollar has rallied. Compared to other major currencies of the world, the greenback is up five percent since July, as the chart below illustrates.    Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com  The question: should investors get into this U.S. dollar rally? 

As we progress to the end of 2014, my skepticism towards the U.S. housing market increases. In fact, the fate of home prices in 2015 is in question.  I don’t expect an outright collapse of the housing market like the one we saw in 2007, but I see the momentum

The weakness in oil prices was pretty sudden and has changed the financial dynamics for many producers. Typically, weaker oil prices are slow to translate into lower prices at the pumps.  Domestic junior oil stocks have been hot commodities until recently. Many of the market’s best growth stocks in this

While the entire world was waiting for and anticipating the next-generation “iPhone 6” from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) on Tuesday, General Mills, Inc. (NYSE/GIS) announced it was acquiring organic and natural food company Annies, Inc. (NYSE/BNNY).  Okay, the launch of the iPhone 6 was clearly more exciting, but so what? The

Large-cap technology stocks, particularly old-school names, have really been on the rise, though they remain an untold story this year.  Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is on a major upward price trend and is getting close to its all-time record-high set during the technology bubble of 1999.  The company’s stock market performance

A week ago today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its jobs market report for the month of August. To say the very least, there was nothing in that report that says the labor market in the U.S. economy is back on its feet. In fact, the report painted

There’s good resilience to this market. On most days, the NASDAQ Composite is still beating both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average comparatively, which is bullish. Lots of stocks are pushing new highs and many seem to be breaking out of their previous near-term trends. NIKE, Inc. (NKE)

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta has set a new record selling for $38.1 million at an auction in Pebble Beach, California. News of the sale was all over the Internet and made it into major newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles

Gold and silver prices are being repressed by central banks, but Sprott Asset Management’s Charles Oliver argues that demand pressure will cause this dam to burst sooner rather than later. As a result, he expects big increases in the prices of gold and especially silver, with a corresponding recovery of

So the S&P 500 has touched the 2,000 mark.  Will the S&P 500 continue to march to new highs?  Well, my opinion towards the stock market hasn’t changed. I remain skeptical for a variety of reasons, many of which I have shared with my readers over the past few months. 

In spite of some doom and gloom scenarios for the housing market, so far it has been full steam ahead as the sector continues to be blazing along since bouncing out of the Great Recession in 2008.  With interest rates and mortgage rates continuing to be relatively low, and with

Countless stocks are pushing new highs and a lot of them are still blue chips. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is lagging the other indices this year, but this is not unusual.  The fact that many blue chips are still slogging higher is further indication of a bull market, despite

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) will launch its next-generation “iPhones” to the world on Tuesday and the expectations, while high, likely won’t blow away investors or competitors, based on my stock analysis.  In my view, it’s more about the apps and functionality of the smartphone, rather than screen size and aesthetics.  Of