Through most of the summer, investors had become increasingly confident about the strength and direction of the economic recovery, the likelihood of the arrival of several promising Covid vaccines, another round of federal economic stimulus and other favorable indicators.
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Election season is now in full swing. In less than seven weeks, or only 49 days, the country will select its next president, representatives from all 435 House congressional districts, 35 senators and 12 state governors.
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Burden of Proof is On the Bulls
At heart, we’re students of the market, which means one of the key tools we use is spotting the difference between normal, run-of-the-mill action and abnormal, noteworthy action, the latter of which is what usually causes us make...
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The recent (and ongoing?) tech momentum reversal appears to be due to a variety of concerns ranging from doubt about valuations, worries about the pace of the economy’s recovery, the lack of another stimulus package and slowing growth in the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases.
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Don’t Fight the Fed?
The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, called by its colloquial name “the Fed” even on its website, made its informal but landmark policy change official last week. For the foreseeable future, the Fed will keep interest rates near zero, focusing almost on...
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Has the “Re-Rotation” Begun?
When our last issue went to press, growth stocks were under pressure. It wasn’t an epic disaster, but there had clearly been a change in character, with the initial market leaders (those that burst to new highs in April or May)...
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Starting next Monday, August 31, before the market opens, the Dow Jones Industrial Average will have a new look.
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Second quarter earnings season is winding down. It was quite a quarter! We’re impressed that so many companies have aggressively reduced their operating costs in the recently completed quarter.
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Growth Stocks Under Pressure
We saw signs growth stocks were ready for a “real” correction in June, but the buyers showed up. And again in July, it appeared the red-hot growth titles were ready to rest—and some of them did—but most enjoyed yet another to...
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We are mostly through the bulk of earnings season and it has been enlightening, particularly as we learn about the pandemic’s effects on profits. Earnings season should be a period when company results can be clearly measured, especially since we are dealing with numbers.
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Stock buybacks fell off a cliff in the second quarter. So why did Warren Buffett repurchase $5.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway shares?
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A Few Thoughts on Rising Market Speculation
The stock market continues to favor high-tech “digital economy” growth companies, particularly after the remarkably strong earnings reports from Apple, Amazon and others. The performance spread between “digital economy” stocks and “physical economy” stocks suggest that speculative is...
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Positive, but Less Powerful
One of the big reasons the market has always attracted us is that it’s a contrary beast, requiring investors to think and perceive things differently than in their day-to-day view of the real world. To the average person who turns the...
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By far the worst performing sector in recent years has been the energy sector. From its peak in mid-year 2014 when oil prices reached over $100/barrel to its current state of complete disarray, the S&P Energy Sector index has collapsed 63%. For comparison, broad...
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The title of this note might be, “What to expect when you’re expecting … earnings.” As companies in the Cabot Undervalued Stocks Advisor portfolio start reporting earnings this week, let’s look into what is behind the results and estimates.
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The Music Changes
When I first arrived at Cabot, I spent a lot of time in the summer of 1999 reading through all (yes, all) of the old issues of the Growth Investor (or Cabot Market Letter for you long-time subscribers). One of my stories...
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Earnings season is upon us again. This quarterly ritual, when all public companies report their most recent results, is when investors can see hard facts about revenues, profits and balance sheets, as well as hear softer commentary from management about their explanations, outlook plans.
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Stocks produced one of their strongest quarters in living memory, with the S&P 500 returning 20.5% in the period ending June 30. The index has nearly fully regained its previously-lost value, declining only 6% for the first half of the year. Investors frequently how...
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Still the Same Story
Most times, the market environment is in a constant state of change, so when we report to you our latest thoughts on this page, there’s plenty to discuss—rotation among sectors, major moves in the indexes, earnings season or some big-picture that...
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How to Learn More about the Companies You Own
As the new Chief Analyst for the Undervalued Stock Advisor, I’d like to thank you for reading this month’s letter. I know you have many sources of investment ideas and advice, and I appreciate your in...
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