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Category: Paul’s Insights

Everything is Hunky Dory – Apple a Selling Opp

Market action is definitely feeling like 1999/early 2000 when the hot NASDAQ stocks were melting higher right out of the gate every morning. More importantly, there were so many days with horrid market internals and prices just kept going higher. Last Friday may have been the most egregious since the bull market began in March. On the NYSE there was almost two stocks declining for every one stock rallying. That behavior usually occurs on a one percent down day. Instead, […]   Read More
Date: August 24, 2020

Price Action Like the Dotcom Era

A quick update as we have seen so much more of the same this week, but even more exaggerated. The NASDAQ 100 and the Fab Five plus Nvidia have powered ahead without taking the vast majority of stocks with them. The price action looks like late 1999 and early 2000 with the index scoring new high after new high with more stocks down than up and the amount of shares trading in stocks going down swamping those in stocks going […]   Read More
Date: August 21, 2020

Thank You Warren Buffett

It’s hard to argue that the dog days of summer are here. Like so many other expressions (sick as a dog), I had no idea where they came from until Google and Wikipedia were invented. Now I feel so informed. The major stock market indices have really gone to sleep over the past week. It’s been so quiet. Thankfully, Warren Buffett provided a little excitement after the close on Friday when he disclosed a purchase in Barrick Gold, an industry […]   Read More
Date: August 17, 2020

Common Questions About a SEP IRA

Your standard IRAs and 401(k)s hog a lot of the attention when it comes to defined contribution retirement plans. While these can be terrific vehicles for creating a long-term nest egg, we don’t want to discount another effective option, the SEP IRA. At Heritage Capital, we’re often asked about the SEP IRA, which can be a low-cost alternative to other employee retirement plans. Can I convert a SEP IRA to a Roth IRA? Can I roll a SEP IRA into […]   Read More

More Warning Signs – More the Bulls Just Run Over Them

I use the high yield bond market in a number of ways at the firm. It’s an asset class that’s used in five of our models as well as a vital canary in the coal mine. This week, Ball Corp., issued a 10 year high yield bond with a coupon (yield) of just 2.875%. That’s under 3% for a junk bond and bordering on insane! If you want to gauge the appetite for risk and yield, look no further. Now, […]   Read More
Date: August 14, 2020

Is Big Tech Cooked? Nifty Fifty May Guide Fab Five

It’s certainly no secret that I have been negative on big tech and concerned that the epic run relative to the rest of the stock market exceeded even the Dotcom Bubble levels. This has been the case for the past month. The only thing that has changed lately is that the broader stock market, which peaked on June 8th, has stepped up to lead. That was one of the outcomes I have mentioned. Dow Industrials, S&P 400, Russell 2000, banks, […]   Read More
Date: August 12, 2020

***End of Q2 Client Update***

Many people like to read my very brief quarterly client update which I select excerpts. If you’re one of them, please read on. If not, feel free to delete now. First off, I hope you are continuing to stay healthy and sane. I am going to do something different to open this report. Why not? It’s 2020 after all. I want to answer the single most asked question by an exponential factor from clients, prospects and the media. Why have […]   Read More
Date: August 10, 2020

Plenty of Warnings Signs for Stocks – Bulls Run Right Over Them

The bulls have run hard this week although the window of opportunity for a decline has not closed yet. There are all kinds of cracks in the market’s foundation. So far, each and every time the market has just run over them. And before someone asks, the answer remains yes. I am still very concerned about the outperformance in the NASDAQ 100 and those 5 stocks in particular versus the rest of the market. No matter how you slice it, […]   Read More
Date: August 7, 2020

Warning Signs Abound, Price Powers Ahead

Full of cracks and warnings, the new bull market continues to chop higher. The S&P 500 has exceeded its June 8th high without much fanfare while the Dow Industrials, S&P 400 and Russell 2000 have still been unable to best their June highs. Of course, the NASDAQ 100 remains in a universe of its own although as we have discussed, it’s really just a handful of stocks. You know the ones. Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft. The warning signs […]   Read More
Date: August 5, 2020

August Not Kind to Bulls… On The Surface

As the calendar turns to August, we see a month that has not been kind to the bulls, regardless of whether stocks began the month in an up or downtrend. Bulls have been lucky to escape the month in the black as the average return is right around the unchanged mark. Additionally, the two-month period of August and September has been the weakest two months of the year. While staying on the calendar, let’s hone in on election years overall […]   Read More
Date: August 3, 2020