The U.S. stock market seems risky now because valuations are rich, as sentiment marches higher. But there’s a fix for that: load up on disliked, cheap value stocks. By many measures, value stocks are lagging growth stocks by almost as much as they ever have in the past several decades. UsuallyRead More →
Imagine doing the same thing over and over again, with little progress and no relief. Sounds like most people’s vision of hell — or the Federal Reserve’s current predicament. Since September, the central bank, through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has been purchasing securities hand over fist toRead More →
The U.S. housing-market crash a dozen years ago is evidently ancient history for many mortgage lenders. Mortgage underwriting standards have eased considerably in the past couple of years; one of the largest U.S. mortgage originators now offers a jumbo mortgage of up to $1 million with only 10% down ifRead More →
Earnings are the single best guide in the stock market in the long term. In the short term, sentiment rules. Only 8% of the strong move up in the stock market last year was attributable to earnings. The rest was triggered by the Federal Reserve reversing its policy of raisingRead More →
Earnings at big U.S. banks, scheduled for next week, will show mixed results, as lower interest rates offset higher trading revenue. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, -1.00% and Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, -0.44% on Jan. 14 will be first to release fourth-quarter results. When the Federal Reserve reversedRead More →
The “Greatest Predictor” of the U.S. stock market’s future is more bullish than it was two years ago, but that’s not saying much. This indicator, which boasts one of the best track records of all in forecasting the market’s 10-year return, is still projecting well-below-average gains. The Greatest Predictor isRead More →
Technology stocks have had an amazing ride. But some, including Netflix and Twitter, are less expensive relative to earnings estimates than they were a year ago. You are no doubt aware that 2019 was an excellent year for U.S. stocks. Still, a breakdown of the 11 sectors of the S&PRead More →
The U.S. economy enters 2020 with a head of steam. OK, if not an all-powerful thrust, then enough to keep it humming at a 2% real rate of growth, which is estimated to be the economy’s potential. Recession fears, triggered by the Federal Reserve’s campaign to raise interest rates inRead More →
At first glance, 2019 was a rough year for anyone in favor of an economy and society guided from the bottom up by people with the freedom to exchange, cooperate and think as they choose. The highly visible left flank of the Democratic Party, fully embracing socialism in name andRead More →
To celebrate the new year, here are some of the most popular MarketWatch articles of 2019. The one with the most readers by far was Catey Hill’s interview with a retired teacher who moved to Panama and believes it would be “an act of insanity to stay in the U.S.”Read More →
LONDON (Project Syndicate) — Wars end when the belligerents give up fighting. The surest way for this to happen, and sometimes the least destructive, is through a decisive battle that leads to unconditional surrender. Boris Johnson’s overwhelming victory in the United Kingdom’s general election this month was such a battle.Read More →
If you think the worst is over for Boeing since the board jettisoned the CEO, think again. Logically, you don’t drop the person in charge when progress is being made. Rather, you let them go when it becomes clear they are part of the problem, not the solution. Now thatRead More →
Parents can be the most important influence on a teen considering college. But how they talk to their children about the all of their choices — Ivy League, state university, community college, trade school, coding boot camp or even no postsecondary education at all (gap year or straight to work)Read More →
It may all have happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but there’s a secret weapon in every Star Wars film that’s found almost everywhere humans live on Earth. It explains how the scrappy Rebel Alliance were able to defeat the mighty Galactic Empire, with allRead More →
AFP via Getty Images Watch out for sparks in the new year. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Project Syndicate) — Predicting the next crisis — financial or economic — is a fool’s game. Yes, every crisis has its hero who correctly warned of what was about to come. And, by definition, theRead More →
Better late than never. It’s a cliché, of course, but it summed up the year for “No-Nonsense Investing.” Some big, bold predictions as 2019 began fell flat, while columns written later in the year were on target. Generally I did better when I was bullish or ignored the cacophony ofRead More →
The last several months have not been kind to plant-based burger purveyor Beyond Meat. But this could change in 2020 as investors remember why this much-hyped stock did so well in its first days of trading. After pricing shares at $25 in a May IPO, Beyond Meat BYND, -0.67% offeredRead More →
Jeff Reeves has the courage to put himself on the line by making specific stock selections, share them with readers and then report on the results, whether good, bad or ugly. Here are two stocks he expects to perform well in 2020, along with many other financial-market predictions. And here’sRead More →
As we approach the end of 2019, it’s time not only for year-end lists, but end-of-decade lists. U.S. stocks have had what can only be called an excellent decade. MarketWatch will feature a number of forward-looking articles building on the past decade’s action. Today we’re taking a look back. TheRead More →
(This is the first in a three-part series listing highly rated stocks that sell-side analysts expect to rise the most over the next 12 months. This article covers large-cap stocks. Part 2 covers mid-cap stocks and part 3 covers small-caps.) What a difference a year makes. At this time inRead More →
This has been an excellent year for U.S. stocks — so good, in fact, that among the S&P 500, only 57 have had negative returns. But it may be profitable to look among the losers for bargains. Mark Hulbert recently pointed to a trend among stocks in the Dow JonesRead More →
As New Year’s approaches, people are thinking about what they could do in 2020 that they didn’t do in 2019. One thing to add to your list: put money in your child’s 529 college savings plan, which, like individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans, allows your investments to appreciate tax-freeRead More →
While you’re shopping for deals on holiday gifts, remember this is a great time to find stock market bargains. Investors have big gains this year, with the S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.06% up nearly 30% including dividends. Some are now looking to sell losers to ring up losses to offsetRead More →
Indicators don’t always a pattern make. Every few weeks, most of us who work in financial services must digest a new set of data that measure various parts of the U.S. economy. For example, new U.S. residential home sales in September were up almost 16% over the past year (whereas housing starts were upRead More →
Rarely has failure been celebrated so much. But it is of little wonder, after all, as all asset classes rose in 2019 despite slowing economic growth and flat-to-declining earnings. In religious debates, this question is often asked: Why is there something instead of nothing? In financial markets, the corollary mayRead More →
