In the waning stages of 2014, investors are starting to look closely at their returns and analyzing the pros and cons of their portfolio decisions this year. Overall the gains have been solid across the board for stocks and bonds with the exception of some errant sectors that have been misplaced. Energy stocks, precious metals,…
The Federal Reserve can lower interest rates to zero, or even–as the European Central Bank has done–into negative territory. But it can’t make lenders lend or would-be borrowers borrow if they don’t want to. And it certainly can’t make a shopper open their wallet and spend if they’re more inclined to save. Economist John Maynard…
Deere & Company’s (DE – Analyst Report) earnings per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 (ended Oct 31, 2014) declined 13.3% to $1.83 from $2.11 earned in the prior-year quarter impacted by less favorable product mix, lower shipment and production volumes and higher production costs. Earnings, however, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58, delivering an…
The last third quarter report for the week (still 9 companies left to report for the season) came from Deere (DE) this morning. The company blew past expectations on both the top and bottom-line, with EPS of $1.83 beating the Estimize consensus by $0.16 and the Wall Street consensus by $0.25. Revenues came in at $8.04B, well above…
Bitcoin has long been considered a revolutionary that individuals will ultimately conduct their transactions. It is no doubt that the crypto-currency came a long way from only being considered another financial asset. However, various issues kept most of the masses away. One of the main problems that still lingers are security breaches which have not…
Bitcoin has long been considered a revolutionary that individuals will ultimately conduct their transactions. It is no doubt that the crypto-currency came a long way from only being considered another financial asset. However, various issues kept most of the masses away. One of the main problems that still lingers are security breaches which have not…
Is it even possible today to retire rich? The short answer is “yes.” We all know people who have done just that. Watching your neighbors Bob and Betty Rich live the good life well into their 90’s only tells you it’s possible, not whether you’re prepared to do it too. So let’s forget about the…
This noisy data series came in below expectations. However the news is not that bad as the year-over-year growth of income is growing faster than expenditures. The market looks at current values (not real inflation adjusted) and was expecting:. In other words, both income and spending were slightly below expectations. The monthly fluctuations…
The overwhelming majority of forecasters in late 2013, believed that interest rates in 2014 would rise. They were wrong. Rates mostly went down. Two leading bond fund managers (Bill Gross and Jeff Gundlach) believed rates would remain low. They were right. Once again, most economists and primary Treasury dealers, and some Fed governors, expect that the Fed will begin raising the Fed…
Personal income and spending posted modest gains in today’s October update from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), albeit at monthly rates (+0.2% on both counts) that fell short of the crowd’s expectations. The usual suspects will fuss over the monthly comparisons and try to spin context out of noise with the data, but there’s more…
