….Dow hits another record. Others slide. 1987ish. Amazon does its thing. Intel, Twitter, Starbucks, et al. Foxconn goes to Wisconsin. Skinny repeal on tap. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-27-2017   DOW + 85 = 21,796 SPX – 2 = 2475 NAS – 40 = 6382 RUT – 8 = 1433 10 Y + .03 = 2.31% OIL + .08 = 49.12 GOLD – 1.50 = 1259.60 The major stock indexes moved to all-time intraday highs, only the Dow held on for a record close. The Dow Jones transportation Average dropped to its lowest level in nearly two months, with UPS offering a weak outlook and FedEx falling in tandem. Volume was heavy today. The Nasdaq Composite and the Nasdaq 100 or QQQ just fell off a cliff around midday. With a higher high and a lower low than yesterday, we have an outside reversal, a fairly strong bearish move – but it isn’t necessarily conclusive. Tech has been leading the markets, and now the FAANG stocks have all reported earnings; so it might be nothing more than buy the rumor, sell the news. A JPMorgan derivatives strategist thinks it might be more; claims low volatility has led to more leverage; recommends buying S&P 500 puts as a kind of portfolio insurance. For anybody old enough to remember 1987, portfolio insurance has nasty connotations.   A milestone was passed this week when one-month Treasury bill rates rose above 1 percent for the first time since 2008. That may not ...

…Major stock indexes hit all-time highs, again. Fed holds steady. Senate votes and votes, again. Trump v. Transgendered. New home sales up. Copper squeeze. Facebook ubiquitous. Boeing flying high. UK electric. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-26-2017   DOW + 97 = 21,711 SPX + 0.7 = 2477 NAS + 10 = 6422 RUT – 8 = 1442 10 Y – .05 = 2.28% OIL – .08 = 48.67 GOLD + 10.50 = 1261.10   The major U.S. stock indexes set all-time highs again.   The Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee wrapped up its two-day meeting on monetary policy. They left interest rates unchanged and in a statement, said they would begin running off their $4.5 trillion balance sheet “relatively soon”. The Fed’s language was not really dovish, but perhaps a bit less hawkish. That pushed Treasuries higher. The Euro jumped to a 2-1/2 year high against the dollar. The next scheduled FOMC meeting is September 19-20, and there is a good chance the Fed will announce the onset of the balance-sheet reduction at the conclusion of the September meeting, effective on the first of October. The Fed has raised interest rates 4 times since they began removing emergency policy in December 2015, and project another increase before the end of this year – most likely at the December meeting. As the Fed starts selling securities from their balance sheet, they will start small and gradually increase the sales, which should allow markets to adjust, at least in ...

Sinclair Noe interviews Daniel Pecaut and Corey Wrenn, co-authors of “University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting”

….S&P, Nas, Russell at new highs. Senate votes on having more votes on repeal/replace, or repeal, or semi-repeal, or something. Confidence soars. Existing home sales solid. Oil prices rally. Copper hits 2 year high. Bond market tumbles as the Fed FOMC meets. 3M slammed. McDonalds all time high. Caterpillar jumps. AT&T up. GM down. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-25-2017   DOW + 100 = 21,613 SPX + 7 = 2477 (record) NAS + 1 = 6412 (record) RUT + 12 = 1450 (record) 10 Y + .07 = 2.33% OIL + .61 = 48.50 GOLD – 5.40 = 1250.60   The S&P 500 index, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 all closed at record highs. The Dow is close but no cookies.   It is earnings season and there were plenty of good earnings and a few bad. 3M marked its sharpest-ever drop on a dollar-basis, off $11.43, or down 5.4%, cutting about 80 points from the price-weighted Dow. 3M’s share slide came after disappointing earnings. The Post-it Notes-and-Scotch tape maker’s share decline, however, was more than offset by a tandem of firm rallies in McDonald’s and Caterpillar which reported second-quarter results that outstripped Street estimates. A drop in Google parent, Alphabet, weighed on the Nasdaq Composite, but the Nasdaq still managed to eke out a record high.   Before we dig into earnings news, there was a lot going on today. The Senate voted on healthcare legislation, in a way. Senate Republicans narrowly agreed to open debate on a ...

…..Nasdaq record. Fed FOMC looking for inflation. GDP growing but not enough. Big week for earnings. 2Q reports off to a good start. Google earnings hit by EU fines, but still shows growth. KKR buys WebMD. Trump pleads for something on healthcare. Kushner testifies. Dems offer Better Deal. NASA tries to crack the sonic boom. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-24-2017   DOW – 66 = 21,513 SPX – 2 = 2469 NAS + 23 = 6410 RUT + 2 = 1438 10 Y + .02 = 2.25% OIL + .66 = 46.43 GOLD + .50 = 1256.00 Stocks were mixed, with tech shares leading the way and the Nasdaq Composite closed at another record high. Commodities Futures Trading Commission data show that bets against the dollar are at their highest since early 2013, while bullish wagers on the 30-year Treasury bond are about the highest since mid-2016. The dollar dropped to 15-month lows and then rebounded slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note moved up to 2.25%. You probably would not expect to see such extreme positioning if investors were confident in the outlook for the economy and the prospect for much higher interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee is slated to begin its two-day meeting on Tuesday. Fed watchers are not expecting a change in interest rates. The Fed will likely be as vague and flexible as possible. The Federal Reserve doesn’t want to get specific about timing but they also don’t want to leave any doubt: ...

Sinclair Noe interviews Gary Smith, author of “Money Machine: The Surprisingly Simple Power of Value Investing”

…..Stocks pull back from records. Tech finally recovers from Dot Com. Fangs lead the market. Earnings the only thing to add volatility. GE weak earnings. Honeywell beats. Amazon has a pricing problem. Wells rehires whistleblower that didn’t exist. BofA bolts London for Dublin. Dark net crackdown. So long Spicey. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-21-2017   DOW – 31 = 21,580 SPX – 0.91 = 2472 NAS – 2 = 6387 RUT – 6 = 1435 10 Y – .03 2.23% OIL – 1.25 = 45.67 GOLD + 10.50 = 1255.50   Stocks pulled back from record highs earlier this week.  For the week, the Dow fell 0.3% but the S&P 500 is up 0.5% and the Nasdaq added 1.2%. The Nasdaq is coming off a 10-day string of gains, matching its longest streak since Feb. 24, 2015 – so a pullback today was overdue.   At long last, tech stocks have finally recovered all the losses they suffered during the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000. It only took 17 years. The S&P 500 Information Technology Index closed Wednesday at an all-time high of 992.3. In doing so, it broke the previous record of 988.5, which was set back in March 2000. In the intervening years, tech shares had lost as much as 80% of their value before beginning the slow ascent back to the top of the market. That ultra-slow recovery highlights how long it can take stocks to come back from bubbles. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 index ...

…..Nasdaq and Russell hit new records. Emerging markets continue a streak. ECB holds steady and slightly dovish. Leading economic index jumps. CBO scores BCRA – ugly. AZ loses jobs in June. Earnings season: Microsoft hits a record high. Visa strong. EBay stumbles. Amazon will carry Kenmore. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-20-2017 DOW – 28 = 21,611 SPX – 0.38 = 2473 NAS + 4 = 6390 (record) RUT + 0.58 = 1442 (record) 10 Y – .01 = 2.27% OIL – .39 = 46.73 GOLD + 3.00 = 1245.00   Sen. John McCain tweeted a message of gratitude for the outpouring of support that greeted news Wednesday of his brain-cancer diagnosis. He tweeted: “I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support – unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so stand-by!”   The Dow and the S&P fell slightly from record highs, while the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 squeaked out new record highs. It was close, but the MSCI Emerging Markets Index of stocks managed to eke out its ninth straight increase. That’s the longest rally since April 2015. The 0.02 percent rise in the index was the smallest of the current streak. Still, that brought the index’s gain for the year to 23 percent.   Europe’s economy is experiencing a pickup in both current and forward indicators of growth. Improvements in household and corporate sentiment and activity have been reinforced by a decline in perceptions of political risk following the victory of Emmanuel Macron ...

…..Dow, S&P, Nasdaq and Russell all close at record highs. Passive investors continue to add money. Big money pros still act skittish. Earnings looking good for now. CBO scores repeal only and it is ugly. House tries a reset with the budget. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 07-19-2017   DOW + 66 = 21,640 SPX + 13 = 2473 NAS + 40 = 6385 RUT + 14 = 1441 10 Y + .01 = 2.27% OIL + .69 = 47.09 GOLD – 1.00 = 1242.00   The Dow Industrials, S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 all closed at record highs today. This is the first time all 4 indexes closed at a record high on the same day since March 1st. ETFs have seen net new inflows of $250 billion thus far this year, and more than half of that inflow has gone to just 20 ETFs, or about 1% of the ETF universe. The most popular ETF this year, in terms of flows, has been the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which has taken in $18.5 billion. Two other iShares equity products—the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) a market-cap-weighted index of developed-market stocks in Europe, Australasia and the Far East, and excludes the US and Canada, and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG), —rounded out the top three.   According to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of 207 investors with a total of $586 billion under management, money managers are a net 20 percent underweight ...

Sinclair Noe interview Ilana Gershon, author of “Down and Out in the New Economy: How People Find (or Don’t Find) Work Today”