Trader Talk

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 21, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Should you be worried?  On Monday at one point, the S&P 500 was down 10% from its recent highs.  However, investors who are panicking should bear in mind long-term trends.  What’s

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Jan. 21, 2022. Source: NYSE Two factors that determine the direction of stock prices are 1) expectations of earnings increasing or decreasing, and 2) the market multiple (price/earnings ratio), which is an estimate on what investors are willing to pay for a future stream of earnings.  Both are

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, January 12, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Earnings season begins with a focus on guidance.  It’s a cliché, but it’s true:  Investors are focused on the future, not the past.  But it’s even more true for 2022 than most other

Catherine Wood, chief executive officer of ARK Investment Management LLC, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cathie Wood started the year as a bona fide superstar in the rarified world of active stock picking. She ends the year

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 08, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Will there be a Santa Claus rally? The bulls say yes. The Santa Claus rally is a very specific event. It is the tendency for the market to rise in the

You have to hand it to UBS’ Art Cashin.  He loves to play against the crowd. “Cashin the Contrarian” was very much in evidence in my annual look ahead interview with the NYSE floor legend. We met at our usual spot for the past 15 years:  Bobby Van’s steakhouse across from the Big Board in

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Bill Clark | Bloomberg | Getty Images Foreign public companies that are listed in the United States may be delisted if their auditors do

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images The market is facing a conundrum.  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has thrown a monkey wrench into the investor playbook. Investors have been worried they will

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 25, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Retailers are reporting this week.  Here’s the good news: The consumer is strong, and retail balance sheets have dramatically improved. “I have been bullish for over a year,” David Berman, portfolio

Selim Korkutata | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission has until Nov. 14 to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the VanEck Bitcoin ETF, the first exchange-traded fund in a long line of “spot” bitcoin ETFs that have applications in front of the regulator. The SEC has delayed a

Charging Bull Statue is seen at the Financial District as snowfall in New York City, United States on December 16, 2020. Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Even the bulls are exhausted.  The S&P 500 is up 14 of the last 16 days. It’s moved over 300 points (about 7%) since Oct. 13.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 15, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images After a disastrous 2020, when many corporations were forced to cut dividends, these payments to shareholders have been rising for the last several quarters. The dollar value of dividends paid

Former hedge fund manager Nelson Saeirs’ paintings visually represent the volatility trading algorithms he used on Wall Street. This one is titled, “The VIX over 40.” A reading in the VIX volatility index over 40 has historically preceded huge market losses Source: Nelson Saiers If there ever was a year active management should have outperformed

In this article AAPL Halfway through third-quarter earnings season, and there are two key catalysts:  Demand is strong. Cost inflation and supply-chain issues are the main headwind, but companies are learning to navigate through them.  In some cases, supply chain disruption has taken a serious toll. Apple CEO Tim Cook said supply chain issues had cost

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), October 12, 2021. Brendan McDermid | Reuters After all but vanishing last year, stock buybacks are surging in 2021 and will likely hit a record in the third quarter. The surge in buybacks comes at a delicate moment for corporate America. Senators Sherrod

Traders works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), August 4, 2021. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Cryptocurrency enthusiasts and the exchange-traded fund industry are bracing for the first bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading on Tuesday, when the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF is scheduled to debut at the NYSE.  One catch: The ETF goes active

A trader works behind plexiglass on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., July 28, 2021. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Today is the traditional start of third-quarter earnings. Here’s the good news: Business is good. Demand for most goods and services are high.  Here’s the bad news:

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), September 21, 2021. Brendan McDermid | Reuters This is a very tricky moment for the markets. The market is in the middle of another rise in interest rates, which is causing traders and investors to move a lot of stocks around. Political dysfunction

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Bill Clark | Bloomberg | Getty Images Investors and Congress are awaiting an imminent report from Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE The land mines for the markets are becoming more numerous. Seasonal weakness is combining with continuing uncertainty over the impact of the delta variant on consumer behavior, high labor and material costs affecting pricing and delivery of goods, and poor data out of