Search

Codexis (CDXS) produces biocatalysts, which make the creation of ethanol faster and cleaner than traditional methods.

“The only way for a REIT to have done well between early 2007 and the March 2009 bottom would have been to have vanished and then reemerged after the storm, which brings us to two REITs, neither of which had to suffer through those 25 months: Pan Pacific Realty, which...

Last week, we wrote about how lower quality, in both home appliances and tangible money, debases value and is a form of inflation. Today’s note includes some of our current views on inflation and capital markets, and what investors can do to help mitigate inflation’s effects on their portfolios. The goal, of course, is to protect the long-term purchasing power of investment assets.

Want to know how to invest in stocks with the presidential election finally behind us? Here are three things you should do, and three you shouldn’t.

The markets have certainly given us a hair-raising ride since last month. Although the Federal Reserve’s decision to bump up interest rates was already priced into the market, the headwinds of China sent global market exchanges into a tailspin.

For the first time in memory, the steep drop in solar prices in 2011 has not generated the leap in solar demand that usually occurs.

The rise in interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine situation are roiling markets and the Fed will soon begin reducing its $9 trillion holdings of Treasury bonds, putting a dent in liquidity that was propping up markets. This is impacting stocks, especially the tech-heavy Nasdaq market.
Agricultural and food markets are also volatile since almost one-quarter of the world’s grain comes from Russia and Ukraine. Across Ukraine’s farm belt, silos are stuck with 15 million tons of corn from the autumn harvest – most of which should have been hitting world markets by now. Impacted by supply-chain bottlenecks and surging freight rates, the $120 billion global grains trade is bracing for upheavals and severe shortages, not to mention political instability.

The market has deteriorated over the past couple weeks. The S&P 500 fell into a bear market on June 13th. The combination of continuing high inflation and a more aggressive than previously expected Fed has led to widespread expectations of recession over the next year.

Recessions are bad for stocks for obvious reasons. But there is something worse than recession, looming recession. Stocks generally recover during a recession. Because the market anticipates, it tends to rebound before the economy. The worst environment for stocks tends to be prior to recession, upon expectation, to part of the way through it.

The week is representative of the tenuous state of the current market. Continued volatility is a strong possibility. Stocks have had a huge and rapid rebound from the March lows on anticipation of a powerful economic recovery and a booming economy in the third and fourth quarters.

News of the spread from China of a brand new virus roiled markets earlier this week. Although the market has bounced back somewhat, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet by a darn sight.

Led by mega-cap tech stocks, the indexes tacked on modest gains last week. The S&P 500 rose 1%, the Dow added 0.84%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.7%.