Daily Markets - Financial News & Opinions

10 High Yield Mega-Cap Stocks In Diverse Sectors
Watch The Market’s Reaction For Signs Of Direction
When Will China Be Larger Than The U.S. Economy?
Forex Trading Review For 8 January
Even With The Full Benefit Of Hindsight, Bernanke Still Can’t Recognize The Fed’s Mistakes
Stock News Briefs: Oil Slides From 15-Month High; Former McKinsey Director Pleads Guilty In Galleon Scandal; Cold Snap Threatens Natural Gas Production
In 2010 You’ll Hear A Lot About The “Next 11″
Forex Trading: Eurozone Unemployment Rate Highest Since 1998
Video: GM Debuts Lithium-ion Battery For Chevrolet Volt

10 High Yield Mega-Cap Stocks In Diverse Sectors

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 04:01 AM PST

While the recent market rally is remarkable in terms of rapidity and momentum, major indices are still 30% or more off their peaks depending on country and sector. That has left some very large and stable companies with enormous dividend yields in historical terms. With conventional income vehicles paying near zero interest, for investors with a long term horizon, high yield Megacap stocks spread across diverse sectors could yield impressive, steady returns, especially if the momentum … [visit site to read more]

Watch The Market’s Reaction For Signs Of Direction

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 03:45 AM PST

As 2010 opened, the stock market averages have crept to marginal new highs. Scott Grannis at Calafia Beach Pundit has pointed out that there are some real signs of a recovery. Examples include:

Auto sales: A V-Shaped recovery. Is the consumer reviving?
The steepness of the yield curve is indicating recovery. I have a fondness for real-time market based indicators and the bond market is one of my favorites.

Is all right with things in the world and are stocks poised to continue … [visit site to read more]

When Will China Be Larger Than The U.S. Economy?

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 03:01 AM PST

I got this question twice this week, once from an interest reader and once after a speech. I expect China’s economy to be larger than ours within the next decade, most likely around 2018. Here’s a picture of the two economies:

Data notes: These are low-fidelity data. The U.S. GDP figures are decent, projected out at our historic average growth rate. Actual data end in 2008, so the 2009 low figures are not incorporated. Chinese GDP data are of low quality, but roughly … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading Review For 8 January

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 02:11 AM PST

USD Dollar (USD)

The Dollar continued the upward trend and strengthened versus all majors. Helping the Dollar’s rally was the initial jobless claims data that increased to 434,000, fewer than the 439,000 claims economists anticipated. Wall Street closed on a mix note. NASDAQ declined by 0.05% and Dow Jones rose by 0.31%. Crude oil declined for the first time in 11 days as the dollar advanced, dropping by 0.6%, closed at 82.66$ a barrel. Gold (XAU) also weakened by 0.2% closed at 1133.7$ an … [visit site to read more]

Even With The Full Benefit Of Hindsight, Bernanke Still Can’t Recognize The Fed’s Mistakes

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 02:01 AM PST

It seems that the primary qualification needed by any chairman of the Federal Reserve is the ability to never admit error, no matter how damning the evidence. During his tenure on the job, Alan Greenspan set the standard for implausible deniability. But in a speech last weekend in Atlanta, current chairman Ben Bernanke did the Maestro one better. In a tortured academic dissertation, Bernanke explicitly denied any Fed culpability for inflating the housing bubble and for the financial crisis … [visit site to read more]

Stock News Briefs: Oil Slides From 15-Month High; Former McKinsey Director Pleads Guilty In Galleon Scandal; Cold Snap Threatens Natural Gas Production

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 01:48 AM PST

Former McKinsey Director Pleads Guilty in Galleon Scandal; Unemployment Claims Drop; EPA Tightens Ozone Standards; Cold Snap Threatens Natural Gas Production; State Tax Collections Plummet; Oil Slides From a 15-month High

Anil Kumar, a former McKinsey & Co director, yesterday (Thursday) pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy charges in Manhattan federal court in what U.S. prosecutors have called the biggest hedge fund insider trading case ever. Kumar was charged with … [visit site to read more]

In 2010 You’ll Hear A Lot About The “Next 11″

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 01:01 AM PST

Everyone is making 2010 forecasts. So today I’ll jump on the bandwagon and share one of mine with you:
In 2010 you’ll hear a lot more about the “Next 11.”

The Next 11 (N-11) is a list of fast-growing countries identified by Goldman Sachs (GS) as potentially good investments in the coming years. However, before I tell you where in the world can you find them, I should probably tell you about the First 4 - the so-called “BRIC” countries.

BRIC is an acronym coined by Goldman Sachs a few … [visit site to read more]

Forex Trading: Eurozone Unemployment Rate Highest Since 1998

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 01:01 AM PST

Eurozone unemployment rate rose to 10% from the prior reading of 9.8%, 9.9% was expected. This is the highest unemployment rate since 1998 for the Eurozone.
Eur/Usd has come off about 10 points since release, now trading at … [visit site to read more]