We’re told to be afraid of high beta stocks like Apple, having both a greater upside and downside. What if we seek to use this greater downside to our advantage instead? High-beta stocks like Apple are normally viewed as a double-edged sword. They can make more money when times are good but can also lose […]

In spite of an upbeat day on Friday, U.S. stock indices closed the week lower again. The month of May has been turbulent, and concerns about trade only add to this. Different things affect the stock market in different magnitudes, and there are all sorts of events that shape investor behavior and move the price […]

Nordstrom stock has been on a real tear over the last 7 months, but not the kind of tear that investors like to see. It has been beaten down so much that it looks like a real bargain to some. Retailer Nordstrom started out the post-recession bull market in real style, where it went from […]

It’s the ninth anniversary of the infamous Flash Crash of May 6, 2010, and while this has been mostly forgotten these days, there are still lessons that we may learn from it. Of all the events that have affected stock markets, there are perhaps none more interesting than the event known as the Flash Crash […]

Uber’s IPO is finally scheduled to roll out this week amidst much fanfare, and is said to be the most anticipated IPO since Facebook in 2012. In terms of concern, it might be #1 of all time. Uber has been in the taxi business for 10 years now, even though they are careful to try […]

Our latest Fed meeting resulted in the committee leaving interest rates alone, in the face of inflation that has dipped from the last meeting. Should we be concerned? Wednesday’s Federal Reserve announcement to leave interest rates unchanged was met with widespread disappointment by the U.S. stock markets, resulting in widespread sell-offs of some significance. By […]

After a terrible 2018 which saw 3M stock lose 20%, 2019 was shaping up much better, until Thursday that is. The stock lost most of their 15% year to date gain on a single day. It’s usually not nice to disappoint the street with your earnings estimates. Current estimates become digested by the market so […]

While the stock market marches on, many institutional investors worry that it may be over soon. Using options is one way to contain this risk, but is it a good way to do it? With the S&P up 22% from its recent lows, many investors are happily hanging on to their stock positions. Most investors […]

Many people think of IPOs as an easy opportunity to make a lot of money. The institutions do get greased, but individuals need to be very careful trading them. Day 1 of Pinterest’s initial public offering at least held its ground during its first day trading its stock publicly, but that’s about all we could […]

Trading in options is far from the beaten path of your typical investor, especially selling them. Some investors do use this strategy though, but they can be plenty tricky. The world of options trading is a complex one to say the least, about as far as you can get from your normal buy and hold […]