How does this market environment compare to recent history? If there was a big market reversal, could that trigger a financial crisis? I recently took a look at these questions through the lens of volatility. In particular, I focused on three measures: S&P 500 implied vol (VIX), government bond implied vol (MOVE) and BBB credit spreads. Comparing them isn’t easy. They each have a different scale and the economy’s evolution over time means deciding what a ‘normal level’ for each is tricky. For these reasons, I looked at each in terms of percentile distributions over rolling 10-year windows. For example,…

These four small cap real estate investment trusts are paying dividends and recently hit new highs. Most of the price improvement is likely the result of the Federal Reserve Bank’s policy of lowering interest rates. How much longer this can benefit the sector is definitely a question. Another question is the effect of Donald Trump attempting to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell when the new President takes office on January 20, 2025. Trump has said he should be the person who sets interest rates rather than the Fed. A substantial change in the way rates are decided would affect dividend…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) reported a strong Q3, with total revenues jumping 63.1% year-over-year to $191.2 million, beating consensus by $7.1 million. This revenue boost was driven by the company’s newest hopper dredge, the Galveston Island, operational since January, along with increased capital and coastal protection project revenues. While earnings improved sharply to $0.13 per share from a loss of $0.09 in the prior year, they missed analysts’ $0.18 target due to additional costs for accelerating the drydocking of another dredge and higher accrued incentive pay reflecting the company’s strong operational performance so far in 2024. The slight…

California’s Leaders Focus on Climate Change While its Finances are not Sustainable! I have been an investment manager and financial analyst for over 30 years. During that time, I have evaluated hundreds of companies as stock or bond investments. Many times, I have seen once marque companies gradually fall into the financial ruin due to poor decision making. While I am not a municipal bond expert, I do see comparisons with California’s current financial mess to those infamous corporate disasters. Here are my business minded observations: 1. Losing High Paying Clients: California has lost a substantial amount of large tax…

The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. Pfizer presently has a stellar rank, in the top 10% of the coverage universe, which suggests it is among the top most “interesting” ideas that merit further research by investors. Start slideshow: 10 Oversold Dividend Stocks » But making Pfizer Inc an even more interesting and timely stock to look at, is the fact that in trading on Friday, shares of…

Bank of America’s potential net interest income trough opens an opportunity for top-line growth. By Daniel Urbina Summary Despite Warren Buffett selling shares, Bank of America’s net interest income recovery and fair valuation make it a strong investment opportunity. Lower rates and a steepened yield curve position Bank of America for growth in net interest income that has been lagging. Although the bank has gained over 60% over the last year, the valuation still looks attractive. Over the recent months, Bank of America (BAC, Financial) has been in the headlines as legendary investor Warren Buffett sold many of his shares…

Marketers are learning that most consumers can detect AI-created ads, which tends to undermine brand authenticity Recent advances in artificial intelligence have given merchants and marketers powerful tools for mining customer data, but relying on AI to create slick marketing content tends to make shoppers wary and “apprehensive.” That was the lead finding in a broad, global survey conducted earlier this year by London-based YouGov, a technology research consultancy. It has been confirmed by other studies measuring the effect on consumers of artificially created marketing imagery and text. YouGov said its research across 17 global markets found that about half…

At times like these, with the economic outlook uncertain and volatility likely, we want to be certain of one thing: We’re still in stocks (and stock-focused funds)! But of course, we want to make sure we’re tempering our risk, as well. Because one thing we can be sure of is that any volatility, no matter if it’s tied to an election or any other outside event, will pass. The last thing we want is to be out of the market when it does. (And of course, we want to keep our dividends rolling in, especially in volatile times.) That brings…

Managing risk is something Wells Fargo Advisor Michael Riherd often finds himself explaining to clients. The situation is particularly acute in technology centric Northern California where many business owners and top executives have most their net worth tied up in the stock of one company. “They might have $20 million or even $100 million in the appreciated stock of one company,” Riherd said. “This stock was paid to them over time and they figure that if a stock has been good, then why sell it.” Riherd said he and his partner, Christopher West, run into this problem all the time.…

Interest rates are finally on the decline again, leaving investors considering where to focus their money next. At this point, the markets could tip in either direction, as the Fear and Greed Index sits at neutral right now, and economic and market pundits are sharing a wide array of commentary that calls for everything from a recession to a soft landing or even the potential for a continuation of greener pastures. In recent years, the runaway valuations of growth stocks have caused some investors to think value investing is dead, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Interviews with…