The dark times of early 2018 may be back upon us. As I write this, bitcoin has lost over 7% of its value in the last 24 hours alone. The current level around $8,500 represents a 26% drop from the February high of $11,600 and a full 56% drop from all-time highs reached in late 2017. #-ad_banner-#Like with the previous drops, the culprits seem to be unfortunate news and the ensuing panic selling (as well as stop-loss algorithmic selling). The news, as is always the case, is questionably relevant to bitcoin’s value. First, Google announced today… Read More

The dark times of early 2018 may be back upon us. As I write this, bitcoin has lost over 7% of its value in the last 24 hours alone. The current level around $8,500 represents a 26% drop from the February high of $11,600 and a full 56% drop from all-time highs reached in late 2017. #-ad_banner-#Like with the previous drops, the culprits seem to be unfortunate news and the ensuing panic selling (as well as stop-loss algorithmic selling). The news, as is always the case, is questionably relevant to bitcoin’s value. First, Google announced today that it will be restricting advertising for cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related content. Bitcoin’s value dropped 12 percent following a similar announcement by Facebook in late January. However, the other piece of news likely affecting bitcoin’s price is more general: regulatory uncertainty. As the SEC and Congress draw nearer to drafting and implementing cryptocurrency policies, uncertainty and doubt over the market’s future is building. Why this is particularly relevant today is thanks to a blog post by European bank Allianz Global. The post declares that bitcoin’s intrinsic value “must be zero” and that a lack of regulation signals… Read More

There is a lot of news in the financial world, but tariffs seem to top the list. While the Trump administration’s new tariffs are all anyone can talk about right now, this is just the beginning of the story. It could end up being significant, or it could become trivial. We won’t know for sure for at least several weeks, until we have a chance to see exactly what the president decides to do and how other countries react. Higher interest rates are also a popular topic for journalists. For several years now, we have heard that rates are going… Read More

There is a lot of news in the financial world, but tariffs seem to top the list. While the Trump administration’s new tariffs are all anyone can talk about right now, this is just the beginning of the story. It could end up being significant, or it could become trivial. We won’t know for sure for at least several weeks, until we have a chance to see exactly what the president decides to do and how other countries react. Higher interest rates are also a popular topic for journalists. For several years now, we have heard that rates are going to go up. And they most certainly will… someday. But we don’t know exactly when someday will be. What I do know is that it’s unlikely that it will be an issue for stocks in the near term. —Sponsored Link— Tech Insider’s #1 Pick For 2018 Invest before midnight May 4 because, thanks to Trump, this must-own tech stock is poised to soar… Click here for the full story.   In theory, higher interest rates mean bonds will start paying out higher yields to bondholders, making them more attractive. Investors… Read More

“When rates are high, stocks will die, and when rates are low, stocks will grow.” I’ll never forget hearing this at a stock market seminar when I was around 12 years old.  Taken to the symposium by my investor grandfather, this was my first actual exposure to stock market wisdom. These were the days of 17%-plus interest rates and some Fidelity mutual funds posting massive returns of over 25%! #-ad_banner-#If someone had predicted rates near zero less than a generation in the future, they would have been laughed out of the room. However, the impossible has now happened, with rates… Read More

“When rates are high, stocks will die, and when rates are low, stocks will grow.” I’ll never forget hearing this at a stock market seminar when I was around 12 years old.  Taken to the symposium by my investor grandfather, this was my first actual exposure to stock market wisdom. These were the days of 17%-plus interest rates and some Fidelity mutual funds posting massive returns of over 25%! #-ad_banner-#If someone had predicted rates near zero less than a generation in the future, they would have been laughed out of the room. However, the impossible has now happened, with rates pushed to zero in a valiant effort to save the U.S. economy. Fast forward to the early part of 2018 and the low rates and massive quantitative easing measures have worked their magic, with the stock market making record high after record high. Now, with the economy potentially going into overdrive, the Fed has slowly started to bump up rates. Rates have begun to climb with up to four increases possible for this year. Will the old saying about stocks dying when rates climb pan out this year? Does the rate rise regime mean the bull market will soon be… Read More

The Supreme Court generally begins hearing arguments in October each year and wraps up in June the following year. Rulings can lag the hearings by several months but are always momentous and can have a big effect on stock prices for related industries. The court heard arguments last December for a case nearly three decades in the making. The ruling could open up a $150 billion-a-year market in the United States and a decision is expected any day now. #-ad_banner-#The industry isn’t depending on the ruling for growth. It’s growing at 10% annually on a global level and as much… Read More

The Supreme Court generally begins hearing arguments in October each year and wraps up in June the following year. Rulings can lag the hearings by several months but are always momentous and can have a big effect on stock prices for related industries. The court heard arguments last December for a case nearly three decades in the making. The ruling could open up a $150 billion-a-year market in the United States and a decision is expected any day now. #-ad_banner-#The industry isn’t depending on the ruling for growth. It’s growing at 10% annually on a global level and as much as 6% in the United States alone. A favorable ruling though could send the industry booming. Not every company in the industry will benefit but I’ve found three names that could see increased sales and surging investor sentiment. One Of The Biggest Supreme Court Decisions Of The Year The Supreme Court heard arguments in Christie vs. NCAA late last year, a case brought by former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie against the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that prohibits all but a few states from implementing sports gambling. The court is expected to render its decision any… Read More

The recent extreme volatility and the downward trend of bitcoin have many investors wondering how to make money from its potential collapse. Here are five ways to do just that. 1. Futures As a nod to the mainstream acceptance of bitcoin, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched futures for the currency last fall. Futures provide the investor the ability to buy or sell a contract. #-ad_banner-#A future contract is purchased if you are expecting the price of the underlying asset — in this case, bitcoin — to increase in value. Future contracts… Read More

The recent extreme volatility and the downward trend of bitcoin have many investors wondering how to make money from its potential collapse. Here are five ways to do just that. 1. Futures As a nod to the mainstream acceptance of bitcoin, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched futures for the currency last fall. Futures provide the investor the ability to buy or sell a contract. #-ad_banner-#A future contract is purchased if you are expecting the price of the underlying asset — in this case, bitcoin — to increase in value. Future contracts are sold with the hope that the price will drop in value. Selling a bitcoin futures contract is an efficient way to take a short position in its price. First, let’s take a look at the futures offered by the CME. Traded under the symbol BTC, each contract represents five bitcoins. The minimum price fluctuation, or tic, is $25.00 per contract. Unlike bitcoin itself, which trades 24/7, the CME futures’ trading hours are 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CST Sunday-Friday. The CME bitcoin futures price is based on CME’s bitcoin reference rate. The reference rate is built on bitcoin prices… Read More

It’s no coincidence that stocks sold off in the beginning of February, right as the market’s level of confidence about the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate increases has grown. The inflation outlook and the outlook for stronger economic growth taken together do point to several rate increases this year. The latest FOMC minutes revealed that Fed officials are now positive on the economic outlook, with some having “marked up their forecasts for economic growth in the near term relative to those made for the December meeting.” Translation: More rate hikes this year. If interest rates rise, they will take a further… Read More

It’s no coincidence that stocks sold off in the beginning of February, right as the market’s level of confidence about the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate increases has grown. The inflation outlook and the outlook for stronger economic growth taken together do point to several rate increases this year. The latest FOMC minutes revealed that Fed officials are now positive on the economic outlook, with some having “marked up their forecasts for economic growth in the near term relative to those made for the December meeting.” Translation: More rate hikes this year. If interest rates rise, they will take a further toll on bonds’ market prices down the road. —Sponsored Link— America’s Secret Weapon In The Oil War A tech revolution is taking place under the radar. And only a few investors know about it. Scientists have found a way to produce clean oil for only $23 per barrel and this tech breakthrough could lead the U.S. to energy independence.And one small company is at the center of it all… Get the story here. The good news is that these rate hikes are conditional on further economic growth. Stronger growth is generally… Read More