On Tuesday the S&P 500 Index hit a new high for the year. The index has been digesting that gain every day since. Contrary to what you might think, that is a good thing.

              New doubts began to surface this week on whether the Federal Reserve Bank is truly ready to stimulate the economy as early as the end of August. Given that the markets are at year highs on the anticipation of another round of bond buying, you need to ask yourself what will happen if [...]

  This week I have had a hard time deciding what’s worse: this summer’s heat and humidity or the meandering markets. The averages barely budged over five days and the volume was, well, atrocious.

   Central bankers in both the U.S. and Europe disappointed most investors this week by failing to announce any additional monetary stimulus. But that doesn’t mean they won’t. What Wall Street fails to understand is that governments do things in their own time and pace.

Twice in the last month the stock markets gained well over a percent in less than an hour. Both times the markets had sold off all week only to snap back on any hint of good news. Markets are primed to go higher. All they need is a promise or two fulfilled.

It is that time of the year when all eyes turn to the Fed. The economy is slowing once again and the junkies on Wall Street are jonesing for their annual stimulus fix. It looks like they are going to get one.

This week global stock markets charged out of the gate with the averages making up for most of the ground lost since May. All three averages experienced two month highs until a bout of profit-taking brought prices back to earth at the end of the week.  I expect this summer rally to continue for the [...]

Five of the six largest U.S. banks were downgraded on Thursday by credit agency Moody’s Investors Service. In Europe, Spain said its banks will need another $78 billion in new capital while the ECB is planning to relax rules for lending to other banks in Southern Europe. Is it any wonder banks aren’t willing to [...]