Opinion

At $2,930 on February 21, gold prices have been up 6.6% over the past 30 days and up 45% over the past year. Gold prices have crested the benchmark $3,000 per-ounce level, reaching $3,100 in mid-February. That performance outpaces stocks, bonds, and most global currencies as volatility has taken...

Investors in the United States received a jolt last week as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 3%, one of the hottest inflation readings in months. The CPI had been steadily declining since topping 9% in 2022, and markets had assumed that the Federal Reserve was on track to get close to the...

After a giant run to the north,defence contractor and AI stock Palantir (PLTR) finally began retracing into support levels earlier this week, before its next run to the upside. Though the chart is quite bullish, the new political administration announced defense budget cuts that traders assumed...

Taking a look at insider buying this week, we see that insiders are just as cautious and uncertain as the rest of us. The insider buy-sell ratio has moved to levels that are typically bearish, meaning that many more insiders are selling than buying.  Now, that is not necessarily a disaster....

Wall Street loves complexity. It thrives on convoluted theories, machine-learning algorithms, and a parade of PhDs trying to reinvent the wheel. But let's cut through the noise and focus on what works. Marcel Schwartz and Matthias Hanauer's recent study on formula investing doesn't introduce a...

Several academic studies have recently examined buying undervalued stocks using tools like the Piotroski F-Score, Joel Greenblatt’s Magic Formula, and profitability factors. I have written about these studies in this column and in my weekly e-letter. Rather than bore you with all the detailed...

Trump’s plans to place tariffs on Canada has come as a surprise, and many businesses are scrambling to deal with the potential fallout. President Trump gave little indication that Canadian tariffs were on the table during his campaign, but now our northerly neighbors face tariffs of as much...

The artificial intelligence software market is starting to flex its muscles and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. As usual, the data tells the story. According to ABI research, the worldwide AI software market hit the $98 billion mark in 2024 and will reach $391.43 billion by 2028. That...

Most people will not notice the importance of this week. They will be far too busy talking about things like AI eating the world, China taking over the government, and Elon Musk ascending to the Interplanetary throne to notice. The media will not be much help. They will be busy covering the vast...

United Parcel Service (UPS) reported earnings a couple of weeks ago, and just as traders did through the last earnings, they sold down into a gap. The stock is now in a range-based formation that we have seen through the last two earnings cycles. Given that history is repeating itself, here’s...

Once again this month Easy Income Portfolio proved its value as a safe haven during turbulent times. In spite of political and economic turmoil, our portfolio delivered a steady stem of consistent income and positive performance. 12 of 15 positions were higher during the month, and the average...

In the ever-evolving landscape of global markets, our Perfect Stock Portfolio continues to validate Benjamin Graham’s timeless principles. Despite the constant refrain that “value is dead” and “book value doesn’t work,” our approach of identifying financially...

Official inflation numbers came out yesterday morning, showing an increase across the board. This has stoked fears the Fed may not decrease rates and may have to even increase rates in an already fragile environment. Pretty much every ticker across the board dipped on the news, while some bounced...

I am a bit of a geek and a nerd. I freely admit it. I read academic research like spy novels. I spend hours testing ideas to validate or destroy approaches to markets that appear to have merit. Very few ideas or theories stand the test of scrutiny. Fewer still withstand the test of popularity and...

The “tariff man” is back, with President Donald Trump renewing his trade war impulses. So far he’s threatened tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, on all steel and aluminum imports. While Trump has relented, for now, on Canada and Mexico tariffs, the China tariffs have gone into...