Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Forbes: 5 Reasons To Be Bullish On Stocks

By SIMON CONSTABLE
Forget the hordes of stockmarket naysayers: There are reasons to get bullish on the market now. Read more here.

Friday, June 12, 2020

Forbes: Central Banks Set For Gold Rush Over Financial Crisis Fears

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Central bankers look set to go on a gold buying binge this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, new research shows.

And the leading reason for the likely desire to buy bars of bullion is fear of another financial crisis, according to a recent report from industry group World Gold CouncilRead more here.

Photo by Roger Attington on Unsplash

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Reason: Negative Interest Rates Will Damage an Already Crippled Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis just published a paper suggesting the Federal Reserve should use negative interest rates to buoy the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns. But negative interest rates have never worked before, and it's foolish to expect them to work now. Read more here.

WSJ: Small ‘Value’ Stocks Are Down but Not Out

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Small-capitalization “value” stocks have been among the market’s worst performers this year. But the sector might be well positioned to outperform the broad market when the economy begins to recover from Covid-19 lockdowns, some analysts say.

In the first quarter of this year, the Fama French U.S. Small Value Index, which tracks the small-cap value sector, recorded the worst quarterly performance in its 94-year history. It dropped 41.5% in the three months through March 31, compared with a 19.6% decline for the S&P 500 over the same period, according to data from asset-management firm Verdad Advisers in Boston. Like large-cap stocks, small-caps have regained ground in the weeks since then, but small-cap value stocks are still among the market’s biggest losers for the year to date. Read more here.

WSJ: Wall Street Has No Consensus

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Judging by their collective forecasts, Wall Street professionals seem confused over where the market and the economy are headed. The estimates of third-quarter economic growth and year-end stock-index levels vary widely compared with just a few weeks ago.

“The reason the dispersion of the estimates is so wide is that no one has a clue what the second half of the year will look like—not Fed governors, not CEOs and certainly not Wall Street analysts,” says Adam Johnson, author of the Bullseye Brief financial newsletter. Read more here.