Nicholas Vardy
An Intuitive Bet on the U.S. Market
For all of the sound and the fury of 2011, the S&P 500 finished at the same level where it started the year. That said, the S&P 500 did gain 10% in the fourth quarter, and that kind of price action has boded well for the first quarter of the following year. Out of 13 […]
Looking for the Santa Claus Rally
Global financial markets shook off the news of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il’s death over the weekend remarkably quickly. A surprisingly strong report on U.S. housing starts and building permits, coupled with a successful Spanish debt auction, drove the S&P 500 Index up just under 3% on Tuesday, making it the best day […]
Taking Quick Profits in South Korea
With South Korea’s Seoul Composite Stock Exchange Index bouncing back another 3.0% overnight, Korean stocks are now trading slightly above the level that they closed at on Friday, before the announcement of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. That translates to about a $53 price on the iShares South Korea MSCI Index […]
The United States Economic Map vs. the World
In the aftermath of the housing collapse and the “Great Recession,” the slow-motion implosion of the U.S. economy is taken as gospel. Conventional wisdom has it that thanks to the combination of exploding government debt and Wall Street cronyism, the United States is on track to become “the next Argentina” — a formerly prosperous nation […]
Profiting from the Demise of a Dictator
December has not been a pleasant time in the U.S stock market. Last week, the S&P 500 closed below its opening price for five straight days. It has also done likewise for 15 out of the last 21 trading days. That said, such stock market action has been a positive sign historically and stocks tend […]
Trouble Brewing In the BRICS
The much-vaunted BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China have had a rough 2011. Even as U.S. investors lament the lackluster performance of the U.S. S&P 500, those who bet the financial farm on the rise of the world’s new economic powers have had it much rougher. At the end of last week, all […]