Category: Blog

How Average Americans Spend their Money? The average American household – $53,708 in spending. That’s 73% of total income. Image: Visual Capitalist

6-Month Returns for the S&P 500 Index from 1950 to 2018 The next 6 months have been the worst on average. Here is the 6-Month returns for the S&P 500 Index from 1950 to 2018. Our previous two articles: “Sell in May and Go Away?” and “Sell in May and Go Away? Maybe Not this…

Oil Is Really a Curse for Venezuela The irony is that the proven oil reserves in Venezuela are recognized as the largest in the world! Picture Source: Bloomberg

How Does President Trump’s Twitter Use Impact the US Stock Market? Trump’s tweets exacerbate short-term volatility and can create unpredictable short-term market fluctuations. That’s the reason why Warren Buffett stays focused rightly on the long term. Image: Bloomberg

Why Trade Tensions Are Not Driving the U.S. Stock Market? Because many Unicorns are going public in the United States this year. Secondly, U.S. banks are healthier than ever and liquidity conditions are quite good in the U.S.. So all in all, that’s far more important than trade tensions. Image: Bloomberg

Tariffs Are a Hidden Tax on American Consumers and Companies Tariff man is back! Keep in mind that trade war costs to consumers and companies. Tariffs are a hidden tax on American consumers and US firms. Trump’s trade war hurts the U.S. economy and stocks.

Why Lower Bond Yields Influence the S&P 500? Because lower interest rates push stock market multiples higher.  If interest rates are lower, then the value of future cash flows increases, because future cash flows are discounted back at a lower interest rate. So, lower U.S. 10-year yields influence the stock market equity risk premium. On the other…

Only 11% of Asset Classes Have Posted Negative Total Returns in 2019 The rally is back, but for how long? According to Deutsche Bank AG, 90% of 70 financial asset classes posted positive total returns. Data for 2019 are through April. Picture Source: The Wall Street Journal

What if Companies Paid Dividends Instead of Buybacks? The S&P 500 Total Return (dividends reinvested) would have been 10% lower if buybacks subbed with dividends. But, are stock buybacks a good thing for shareholders? Yes, if done at a price below the intrinsic value of the company. Buybacks are a good substitute for dividends, because…

Is U.S. Household Debt a Problem? Not really, right now. Actually, the level of household debt alone does not tell an accurate picture of the current situation. However, U.S. household debt to GDP is much lower, U.S. household debt service payments as a percent of disposable personal income  and U.S. household financial obligations as a percent…

“Real Fed Rates Are the Most Accurate Predictor of Future S&P 500 Volatility,” Says SocGen SocGen says it is the most accurate predictor of S&P 500’s volatility over the last 50 years. Should investors be nervous about rising real interest rates? Yes, higher real interest rates mean higher borrowing costs. Real Fed funds rate is…