Friends  Fear of escalating trade wars sent stocks tumbling today, as market participants are concerned that things are starting to get real with regards to tariffs.   By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 328 points to finish the day at 24,252. The...

Friends  The Dow broke its eight day losing streak and was the star of the trading session led by energy shares and industrials. The S&P 500 was up but modestly, while the previous champion the Nasdaq actually was down a bit. There weren't any market moving...

Friends  The Dow suffered a decline for the 8th straight day in a row-adding up to nearly 4% over the eight days. Hmm, pretty sneaking if you ask me. In somewhat of a paper cut fashion the Dow, which contains companies that would be affected by trade wars, has fallen...

Friends  Stocks were mainly mixed as the Dow slumped a bit while the likes of Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix all pushed higher. Stocks that have stalled include financials, industrials and materials. Volatility was muted as the bulls, other than for the momentum...

Friends  As the "trade wars" with China ratchet up, stocks have been heading south. No, it hasn't been a bloodbath, but the rally that the bulls were putting together a couple of weeks ago has disappeared for the time being. Big industrial names like Boeing and...

Friends  Stocks figured to be down at the open given the announcement of the Chinese trade tariffs, and they were. By mid-morning the Dow was sporting a nearly 300 point loss, but as the trading session wore on stocks recovered a good portion of those losses.  By the...

Friends  Despite a fantastic retail sales number, stocks were mostly quiet and mixed for the day, although Nasdaq was the winner. The 10 year Treasury note has actually slipped a little in yield since the Fed raised the Fed Funds rate yesterday, settling today near...

Friends  As expected, the Fed did raise the Fed Funds rate a quarter of a point which now stands at 1.75% to 2%. The FOMC statement did indicate that they still see 2 more rate hikes this year and 3 next year. That would bring this year's total to 4 rate hikes and not...

Friends  Once again, markets were somewhat unaffected by the global headlines overnight. Despite the theater in Singapore, market participants appear to be more focused on the Fed and the likelihood of the FOMC announcing a rate hike tomorrow. Stocks were mixed, with...

Friends  Market participants didn't seem that concerned about the supposed "breakdown" of trade talk at the G7 meeting over the weekend. Of course traders have their eyes on the Korean summit that is about to take place, but let's not take our eye off the ball of the...

Friends  As world leaders gather in Quebec for the G7 meeting, it appeared by the lack of action in the stock market today, that traders may have headed for the beach early. Stocks did post gains for the trading session, and it was a very good week in general for...

Friends  Stocks were mixed today as the momentum/tech names stumbled a bit, while some blue chip names like McDonalds, Chevron and Home Depot kept the Dow in positive territory. Traders seem now to be focused on the upcoming G7 meeting and the Korean summit.  For the...

Friends  Well, the bulls seem to have the upper hand at the moment as they charge towards the earlier in the year highs. Stocks got off to a good start today, and things got better for the bulls as the session wore on. It wasn't so much the tech and momentum darlings...

Friends  While traders contemplated the idea of an independent mind like former Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz running for president in 2020 (considering his interview on CNBC this morning, his message appeals to what has become a small minority), stocks drifted...

Friends  The stock market seems to be focusing on the positives right now (the economy, corporate earnings, consumer confidence, etc.) and not the negatives which could include the consequences of possible trade wars. The bulls appear to have the upper hand right now,...