Trader Talk

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing titled Oversight of the Treasury Department’s and Federal Reserve’s Pandemic Response, in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images If you want to see how tough it is to be Federal Reserve Chair

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Feb. 25, 2022. Source: NYSE The NYSE and Nasdaq have announced today that they are halting trading in several Russia-based stocks that list on their respective exchanges. Much more interesting is the fact that the Russian stock market in Moscow is closed, but U.S.-based Russian exchange-traded funds are

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on the SEC on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 14, 2021. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rule that would tell investors more about short sales is part

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler kicked off an ambitious regulatory agenda this year – and his agency is pushing forward

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on the SEC on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 14, 2021. Evelyn Hockstein | Pool | Reuters SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and his staff have been very busy lately, and they are about to

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Feb. 2, 2022. Source: NYSE Thursday is the halfway point for fourth-quarter earnings season.  The good news is corporate America is flush with cash.  The bad news is 2022 estimates don’t look anywhere near as robust as 2021. The highlights so far: Revenues are at record highs.  Corporate America

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 21, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Should you be worried?  On Monday at one point, the S&P 500 was down 10% from its recent highs.  However, investors who are panicking should bear in mind long-term trends.  What’s

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, Jan. 21, 2022. Source: NYSE Two factors that determine the direction of stock prices are 1) expectations of earnings increasing or decreasing, and 2) the market multiple (price/earnings ratio), which is an estimate on what investors are willing to pay for a future stream of earnings.  Both are

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, January 12, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Earnings season begins with a focus on guidance.  It’s a cliché, but it’s true:  Investors are focused on the future, not the past.  But it’s even more true for 2022 than most other

Catherine Wood, chief executive officer of ARK Investment Management LLC, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cathie Wood started the year as a bona fide superstar in the rarified world of active stock picking. She ends the year

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 08, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Will there be a Santa Claus rally? The bulls say yes. The Santa Claus rally is a very specific event. It is the tendency for the market to rise in the

You have to hand it to UBS’ Art Cashin.  He loves to play against the crowd. “Cashin the Contrarian” was very much in evidence in my annual look ahead interview with the NYSE floor legend. We met at our usual spot for the past 15 years:  Bobby Van’s steakhouse across from the Big Board in

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Bill Clark | Bloomberg | Getty Images Foreign public companies that are listed in the United States may be delisted if their auditors do

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images The market is facing a conundrum.  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has thrown a monkey wrench into the investor playbook. Investors have been worried they will

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 25, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Retailers are reporting this week.  Here’s the good news: The consumer is strong, and retail balance sheets have dramatically improved. “I have been bullish for over a year,” David Berman, portfolio

Selim Korkutata | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission has until Nov. 14 to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the VanEck Bitcoin ETF, the first exchange-traded fund in a long line of “spot” bitcoin ETFs that have applications in front of the regulator. The SEC has delayed a

Charging Bull Statue is seen at the Financial District as snowfall in New York City, United States on December 16, 2020. Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Even the bulls are exhausted.  The S&P 500 is up 14 of the last 16 days. It’s moved over 300 points (about 7%) since Oct. 13.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 15, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images After a disastrous 2020, when many corporations were forced to cut dividends, these payments to shareholders have been rising for the last several quarters. The dollar value of dividends paid

Former hedge fund manager Nelson Saeirs’ paintings visually represent the volatility trading algorithms he used on Wall Street. This one is titled, “The VIX over 40.” A reading in the VIX volatility index over 40 has historically preceded huge market losses Source: Nelson Saiers If there ever was a year active management should have outperformed

In this article AAPL Halfway through third-quarter earnings season, and there are two key catalysts:  Demand is strong. Cost inflation and supply-chain issues are the main headwind, but companies are learning to navigate through them.  In some cases, supply chain disruption has taken a serious toll. Apple CEO Tim Cook said supply chain issues had cost