stock prices

As I’ve often pointed out, the stock market tends to put on an above-average rise in U.S. Presidential Election years. This provides a statistical rationale for optimism in 2016, since the next election is this November. But it’s no guarantee that the market will rise, for a couple of reasons. First, several ominous factors are weighing on the market right now, in addition to the election. These include the outlook for interest rates; the trend in prices for oil and other commodities; the rise in terrorist activity; the Chinese economic slowdown; and the sharp rise in the U.S. dollar and corresponding drop in the Canadian dollar. An abrupt shift in any of these factors could have a big influence on the market for the remainder of the year and beyond....

As I’ve often pointed out, the stock market tends to put on an above-average rise in U.S. Presidential Election years. This provides a statistical rationale for optimism in 2016, since the next election is this November. But it’s no guarantee that the market will rise, for a couple of reasons. First, several ominous factors are weighing on the market right now, in addition to the election. These include the outlook for interest rates; the trend in prices for oil and other commodities; the rise in terrorist activity; the Chinese economic slowdown; and the sharp rise in the U.S. dollar and corresponding drop in the Canadian dollar. An abrupt shift in any of these factors could have a big influence on the market for the remainder of the year and beyond....

How to invest in stocks: keep a steady course and avoid the temptation to “take money off the table.”

Stock market cycles occur repeatedly—and there are any number of theories as to which sectors will outperform at any given short term stage of the cycle....

Drug stocks can offer lots of potential for investor profit—but there are three major hurdles most drug makers face

Marketing timing strategies like “buy low, sell high” make sense of past market movements, but are pretty much useless at predicting the future.

Profiting from the global stock market has never been easier for investors

Decades ago, it used to make some sense to try to profit by moving back and forth between bonds and stocks. That’s because bonds and stocks had something of a seesaw relationship.

When the economy was strong, business profits and stock prices would go up. However, interest rates and inflation would go up as well. The rise in interest rates meant that new bonds would come on the market with higher interest rates. That would push down prices of existing bonds that carried low interest rates.

As this process continued, some investors would sell some of their stocks, in part because stock prices had gone up. They would re-invest the money in bonds, because bond prices had fallen, and bond yields had gone up. This trading strategy gave investors a sense of safety and accomplishment, but it had drawbacks.

For one, you had to pay taxes in gains on your stocks if you held them in taxable accounts. You also had to pay brokerage commissions on the stock sales, and absorb the costs of buying bonds. (Bond trading costs were often built in to the price of bonds, rather than being charged separately as they are with stocks.) In addition, timing was crucial.

The appeal of selling stocks that had gone up, and buying bonds that had become cheaper, only goes so far. It shrinks quickly if your stocks keep going up after you sell, and your bonds keep going down after you buy.

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With this short-term investing strategy, you may be missing out on long-term profits in favour of giving short term profits to your broker

Invest like fabled investor Warren Buffett by looking for long-term fundamental value.