Key News Asian equities were mixed overnight as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mainland China outperformed while India, the Philippines, and Indonesia underperformed. Hong Kong and Mainland China opened lower but went from lower left to upper right/grinding higher all day on strong volumes, and strong breadth/advancers beat decliners handily. Several key catalysts are at play: Chatter that NPC fiscal stimulus could be more significant than anticipated on the low end of between RMB 2 trillion to RMB 6 trillion while the high end of the range of RMB 10 trillion to address local governments’ hidden debts, real estate support, and…

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by an “historic” 50 basis points. Then, interest rates soared. Wait. What? The Federal Funds Rate is a target (technically a target range) that influences short-term rates in the economy. Money market funds, for example, pay interest based on this benchmark. They pay 0.5% less today than two months ago due to the Fed cut. Long-term rates, on the other hand, are not controlled by the Fed. Not directly, at least. The global bond market is a cool $130 trillion. Far too large for anyone, even Uncle Sam, to control. Fed Cut Sends the…

One often-overlooked way for closed-end funds (CEFs) to give us a profit boost is for management to buy back a fund’s shares. By now, buybacks are probably familiar to most investors: With “regular” stocks, buybacks reduce a company’s share count, which boosts earnings per share and other per-share metrics, indirectly boosting share prices along the way. With CEFs, buybacks have a bit of a different effect. With these high-yielding funds, we want to focus instead on how buybacks affect the discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of a CEF’s underlying portfolio). Buybacks, Fixed Share Counts Help Management…

Earlier this year, I had the honor of delivering a commencement address to a graduating class of business-focused college students. It was an opportunity not just to speak, but to listen—to the student speakers who spoke before me. Given the celebratory nature of the occasion, I was surprised by one topic that came up again and again among the students, mostly business majors: regret. One student warned their classmates that the opportunities they’re too afraid to take are the ones they’ll wind up regretting most. Another observed that no amount of regret can change the past. Their candor inspired me…

There are four reasons DJT fell $20 (40%) last week: First, the stout $50 barrier once again blocked DJT’s rise. With speculators and short sellers focused on technical indicators, the seemingly impenetrable $50 level was an easy read. Moreover, it dropped further, breaking through the next major barrier, $35. Note: DJT has been labeled a meme stock which heightens risk and volatility. See my October 30 article for explanation: “Trump Media Stock (DJT) – A Meme Stock Plummet Can Be Hard To Stop” Second, the rapid rise on extremely high trading volume means that many stock buyers were drawn into…

On Tuesday, voters will decide on more education-related ballot measures than ever before, says Michelle Exstrom, director of the education program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most of the questions fall into one of two buckets—revenue-raising measures for K-12 schools and community colleges or school choice initiatives. Funding for public schools has been an historically popular issue, but “in general, we’re seeing in some states, especially in some school districts, it seems to be harder and harder to pass revenue raising measures,” Exstrom says. Indeed, California voters struck down a $15 billion bond measure for capital improvements at…

As an investor and stock-market columnist, I have many successes – and plenty of failures, too. One of my shortcomings is that I pay too little attention to momentum. My gut instinct when a stock rises 200% or more is to suspect it will fall back to earth. That’s often wrong, because market leaders are frequently doing something right. This year, Summit Therapeutics Inc. (SMMT) leads the parade of winners among large stocks (those with a market value of $10 billion or more). It’s up 628% through Nov. 1. Carvana Co. (CVNA) is second, with a 333% gain. Next come…

Further evidence of disinflation is expected with October’s Consumer Price Index report. However, with inflation close to the Federal Open Market Committee’s 2% annual goal, jobs data is likely to have a greater bearing on the FOMC’s upcoming interest rate decisions. Still, relatively good news on inflation is expected. When Is The October CPI Report? CPI figures for the month of October 2024 are scheduled to be released on November 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. This is the earlier of two major inflation releases for the month, with Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index being released on at 10 a.m. ET…

These NYSE stocks are shaping up as breakouts, a point-and-figure chart term for, in these cases, a generally positive set-up. The reason for using p-n-f price charts is the glimpse of clarity they provide. Once you see the x’s and o’s lined up over a time period, you can begin to understand why some analysts still use it. An X represents a move up of one dollar and a O represents a move down of one dollar. This method provides a trader or investor with the ability to quickly identify support and resistance levels. It also shows the direction of…

In my previous post, I pointed out how tinkering with your stock portfolio ahead of elections might cause you to miss out on future gains. It doesn’t matter who is in the White House or what the makeup of Congress looks like—the smartest strategy has always been to stick with stocks as part of a long-term plan. Yet, Wall Street pundits love to stir the pot, pushing for immediate action based on the latest poll or candidate comment. With 2024 Election Day upon us, it’s important to remember that political predictions often don’t translate into market realities. History shows that…