Trader Talk

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speak to reporters after their coronavirus relief negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 7, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters The trading community is actively debating the

A pedestrian outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, July 29, 2020. Wang Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images The October market story is really complicated. If you thought September was confusing, October is not likely to be any better, and it could be significantly rockier. That’s because the “buckets” that

Earnings season kicks off in a couple weeks and here’s why it may be better than expected. The S&P 500 is down 4% for the month, the first down month since March, but investors are expecting big things from corporate earnings reports, which begin Oct. 13 when JPMorgan releases results. “September has been a rough

A computer-generated image from interiors contractor Portview shows how office space may be segregated as people go back to the workplace after the coronavirus lockdowns are eased. Portview What will the post-Covid workplace look like? Steelcase is one of the largest manufacturers of office furniture — desks, chairs, storage products and office pods — and

A trader working after the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony on April 18, 2019 in New York City. Kena Betancur | Getty Images Stock picking has a terrible track record, and it’s getting worse. That’s the thesis of Larry Swedroe and Andrew Berkin’s book, “The Incredible Shrinking Alpha,” just out in its second edition. Swedroe is

Snowflake IPO begins trading at the NYSE on Sept. 16th, 2020. Source: NYSE So you think Snowflake up over 100% on its first day is a big deal? Nah, there’s been plenty of companies that have had first day pops bigger than that this year.  They include biotech firm CureVac, up 249% on the first

The software business is on fire. This is going to be by far the biggest year for software IPOs in history. Four big software IPOs are pricing this week: Snowflake, Unity Software, Jfrog, and Sumo Logic. Palantir and Asana are coming at the end of September.   Snowflake priced its IPO at $120 per share, raising

Traders wearing masks work, on the first day of in person trading since the closure during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 26, 2020. Brendan McDermid | Reuters There’s a spate of new exchanges ready to launch that want

You knew this was coming. The market internals had been flashing warning signs for a couple weeks: very few new highs, very sloppy advance/decline line, low short interest, and a lot of talk about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and TINA (There Is No Alternative). All signs of frothiness. So what is this? Is this

You knew this was coming. The market internals had been flashing warning signs for a couple weeks: very few new highs, very sloppy advance/decline line, low short interest, and a lot of talk about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and TINA (There Is No Alternative). All signs of frothiness. So what is this? Is this

A stock trader wearing a mask walks near social distancing signs the day a new IPO is launched at the New York Stock Exchange as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 27, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts

A bear statue stands outside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, operated by Deutsche Boerse AG, in Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday, March 13, 2020. Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images Throw in the towel on a market pullback? It’s getting lonely being a market bear. Investors — even market bulls — who are trying to figure

It’s been a great August, up 6% for the S&P 500, the best August since 1986. But then again, it was a great July.  And a great June. May was pretty good, too, and April was downright eye-popping. The Summer Rally (S&P 500 Monthly Returns) April: up 12.7% May: up 4.5% June: up 1.8% July:

Protesters block a courthouse entrance in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, 2020. VALERIE MACON | AFP | Getty Images The rich really are getting richer.  We know this, but two Federal Reserve economists have recently examined the evidence and concluded the gap is getting even wider. Federal Reserve Board economists Isabel Cairo and Jae Sim

Traders wearing masks work, on the first day of in person trading since the closure during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 26, 2020. Brendan McDermid | Reuters It finally happened, but not without some drama. The S&P 500

A worker wearing a protective mask adjusts a torque wrench inside the service area at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Oakland, California, on Thursday, July 16, 2020. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images The dark side of good earnings: Companies are talking about turning “furloughs” into permanent layoffs. You knew this was coming. It’s

Shake Shack, one of the many storefront businesses boarded in downtown Brooklyn over the fears of looting. Erik McGregor | Getty Images Just looking at the earnings for Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google, you might get the impression that everything is going swimmingly for second- and third-quarter earnings. But that’s not the case. “We continue to

Amazon, Facebook, and Apple are only the most recent examples of a notable trend: earnings much better than expected. The reopening story may be getting rocky, but one pleasant surprise has been earnings. They are far noisier than normal, but in general they have been better than expected. Much better. And that is one of

Jason Gorevic, CEO, Teladoc Scott Mlyn | CNBC Earnings reports are coming in fast and furiously, and with a large percentage of companies declining to provide guidance, reporters and analysts are combing through corporate press releases and earnings calls for signs of how business is doing.  Semiconductors continue to be the all-round winner Equipment maker

The stock market is holding up well because it believes three things are happening: 1) a vaccine is coming, 2) there will be almost infinite stimulus from the Federal Reserve, and 3) the second quarter was the worst quarter for corporate profits and those profits will slowly improve. But there’s a subtext to much of

A customer leaves a Sherwin-Williams Co. store Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images With one-third of the S&P 500 reporting, there’s a battle shaping up between two stories. One is somewhat bearish: The reopening is slowing, and the second half will not see the V-shaped recovery anticipated at the height of reopening euphoria in

People walk past a TD Bank in Brooklyn, New York. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Earnings keep coming in, and while some high-profile companies are continuing to refuse providing guidance, many are making very interesting comments about the state of their industries. Here’s a few: Stock trading really strong. A solid report from TD Ameritrade.

Coca-Cola President and CEO James Quincey attends a press conference with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president and China Mengniu Dairy CEO and Executive Director, as part of the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne, on June 24, 2019. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images With

A Goldman Sachs sign is seen on at the company’s post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Brendan McDermid | Reuters It doesn’t look like Wall Street is going back to work in any great numbers, at least any time soon. That seems to be the message from major money center banks

A tag hangs from a Steelcase London Ltd. desk chair in the former offices of Duff Capital Advisors LP in Greenwich, Connecticut. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images With nearly half of the S&P 500 declining to provide earnings guidance, simple verbal commentary from a CEO or CFO —whether in a quarterly earnings press

People pass a sign for JPMorgan Chase at it’s headquarters in Manhattan, New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Earnings season, which officially starts Tuesday with JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, is going to be wild — and unpredictable. Here’s why: About 40% of companies are not providing any guidance at all. As a result,

You’ve heard about the trade war with China. There may be a separate, potential “financial war” brewing. The Securities and Exchange Commission wants you to know more about what is happening with Chinese companies that list in the United States. The regulators also want you to know that they are having a really hard time

A man in a surgical mask walks by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after more cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York City, New York, U.S., March 10, 2020. Andrew Kelly | Reuters Next week brings an end, mercifully, to the first half of 2020. That’s the good news. The bad news: Wall

Good news for investors: Your broker-dealer is going to have to disclose a lot more about what he or she is advising you to buy or sell.   Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, is coming into effect June 30 after more than two years of controversy and discussion. It requires broker-dealers — those who

In this photo illustration a Robinhood Markets logo seen displayed on a smartphone. Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images The interest in beaten-up stocks in energy, travel and leisure is taking some, well, bizarre turns. I’ve written recently about the importance of retail traders in the recent rally, but the interest