Flash Crash 2015 Style: Did You Miss It? When markets opened on Monday, August 24, a slew of sell orders were already lined up, causing many computer systems to go haywire. Many brokers were locked out, and with market makers and specialists unwilling to take action, we saw enormous bid/ask spreads, stops being hit at very low levels, and frozen markets. This alloccurred at the opening bell, and it ... Read more »

Got a ‘Chip and a Chair’? Then You’re Still in the Game! There is a great story of luck and persistence about Jack ‘Treetop’ Strauss. A towering figure, Strauss was an accomplished poker pro. In 1982 he was playing in the World Series of Poker, having made his third final table of his career (he finished second to legend Johnny Moss in 1971). So as legend has it, during the second day of the ... Read more »

Will the Fed’s Experiment End Badly? Put together these ingredients: The biggest weekly market decline in two years, the winding down of earnings season, and a light week for economic data. The result? Financial TV producers will be seeking experts to explain whether we are starting a major correction. Analyzing the Fed will be a favorite theme. Unless and until we get a bit of a rebound in stocks, ... Read more »

Stock Corrections: How Bad Can They Be And What Can We Do? 2013-2014: Not A Good Benchmark It has not been difficult to find “as long as the Fed is in charge, we will never have another serious correction” comments in recent weeks. The July 31 selloff in risk assets may have brought some back closer to reality. Key points regarding the real world and investment stress: If you are relatively new to the investing ... Read more »

Can Earnings Growth Reignite the Stock Rally? To the surprise of many observers, stocks have survived a series of recent challenges. As Q214 earnings reports starts begin, the questions has changed: Can strong corporate earnings spark a renewed rally in stocks? Prior Theme Recap Two weeks ago I expected that speculation about a market correction would dominate the time before earnings season began. This ... Read more »

Is Recent Volatility Cause For Concern? Earnings: A Big Role This Week Before we get into the subject of recent volatility, it is important to understand the primary market driver in the days ahead – earnings. From The Wall Street Journal: Twelve Dow industrials components and 146 S&P 500 companies are set to post earnings this week, including Apple, Microsoft and Ford, according to FactSet. ... Read more »