Sharpen Your Investment Research
2022 was the year that Value made a comeback. For more than a decade, 'Value Investor' was synonymous with 'Serial Underperformer'. From the lows in 2007 to the highs in 2021, the S&P 500 Growth Index outgained its Value counterpart by a whopping 170%. Last year, it gave up a third of those relative gains. …
Continue reading "A Changing of the Guard? Growth vs. Value"
It's a market of stocks. Sometimes we can lose sight of that simple fact. We live in a world dominated by indexes. The media tells us all about the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Our portfolios are benchmarked against those same indexes, or ones just like them. It's hard to …
It's a new year, so there's no better time to take a step back and think about what will drive markets in the months ahead. The Components of Inflation At his November 30, 2022 speech, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described the 3 primary components of inflation - Core Goods, Housing Services, and Core Services …
It was a great year to be a stock picker. If you picked a handful of random stocks each year on January 1st, weighted them equally in a portfolio, and then remained invested in those stocks until the end of the year, you'd find yourself underperforming index returns most of the time. It's one of …
Another year is nearly gone, and it’s been one for the books. Let’s take look at what made 2022 what it was. Inflation Inflation. How could a discussion of the last 12 months start anywhere else? Prices spiraled out of control in the aftermath of the unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus that accompanied the pandemic. …
Many of you have been asking me for more in-depth research. Now it's here. I’ve officially launched Grindstone Intelligence, an independent research company with weekly and monthly updates AND a premium newsletter! For more than three years now I’ve been publishing my thoughts here on Means to a Trend. When I started, I had no …
In a year that's offered few places for investors to hide, Energy has been a bright spot. The growth-dominated Nasdaq is down nearly 30%, and bonds are on track for their worst year in at least 50 years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Energy sector hasn't spent a single day in negative territory. It seems that …
Metals pushed to the front of the pack in November. Gold and Silver both had their best month since 2020, and Copper prices rose by more than 12%. At the end of October, it looked as though Gold prices were stuck beneath the low end of their 2020-2021 range and headed back toward their COVID …
I hope you were wearing your seatbelt, because that week was one for the books. The reaction to Thursday’s CPI report alone was worthy of its own lengthy analysis. A decline in used car prices and a deceleration in the price of medical care services helped drive core CPI down to 6.3%, 0.3% lower than …
I recently sat down with Traders Corner founder Garth Mackenzie to talk markets on his podcast. We discussed the current lay of the land, the outlook for inflation, and themes to watch in the years ahead. If you’ve got some time, give it a listen! You can find Talking with Traders on Apple Podcasts or …