When Jamie Dimon talks, EVERYONE listens!

By David Nelson, CFA Banks kicked off the earning’s season Friday as JP Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) reported 2nd quarter results. The headline beat from (JPM) came on the back of higher fees and lower credit costs but the shocker was a surprise lecture from CEO Jamie Dimon. Launching an all-out attack on […]

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Gekko: It’s a Zero Sum Game – Somebody wins somebody loses

By David Nelson, CFA We’ve hit the point of no return for 2017. Probably a good spot to check our compass and make sure we have enough fuel to complete the journey. With the exception of a few bumps along the way the broad indices have been relatively benign. However, trading beneath the surface has […]

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The Glass is Half Empty – 2 Charts That Prove It!

The Glass is Half Empty – 2 Charts that prove it By David Nelson, CFA Despite a Washington backdrop that continues to drag on investor sentiment, markets around the world powered higher following a brief reset after the leak of former FBI Director James Comey’s memo. Leadership continues to narrow into a handful of names […]

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Can The Hammer Save Oil Bulls?

By David Nelson, CFA Healthcare and the French Elections topped the Wall of Worry list for the last several weeks. As of this writing a Macron win seems all but certain with early exit polls giving him 65% of the vote. Here in the states Healthcare is once again center stage as a partisan Congress […]

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What CEOs Will Do With the Trump Tax Cut – The Answer Isn’t What You Think

By David Nelson, CFA After a 6 week slide from the all-time intraday high of 2400, the S&P 500 (SPY) rallied in the final two weeks of April hoping to retake the high ground. The tug of war between valuation, politics and macro concerns vs. a relatively strong earnings season rages on. While the CBOE […]

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Market Assassins

By David Nelson, CFA Investor concern has been rising and reflected in the sideways price action over the last several weeks. We’ve rounded up the usual suspects including valuation, politics, military action and the Fed as potential assassins to a bull market now entering its 9th year. Before we break out the cyanide capsules it’s […]

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Canaries in the Coal Mine

By David Nelson, CFA “The canary in the coal mine is always the first to go.” For more than a century miners carried them in small cages deep into the mine as an early warning detection system for poisonous gas or carbon dioxide. The first sign of distress in the cage sent the men back […]

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Reality Bites! – The End of the Trump Rally?

By David Nelson, CFA U.S. markets struggled last week closing modestly lower after several weeks of gains. Perhaps it was the exhaustion gap higher following the President’s speech or the building reality that there’s a disconnect between investor perception and the actual timeline of administration proposals. The President has said they are committed to a […]

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