Posts by Darryl H

With back-to-back quarterly declines in GDP, we are currently in a recession based on the technical definition. GDP growth for the first two quarters of 2022 was -1.6% (Q1) and -0.9% (Q2). Going beyond the technical definition of a recession, it is debatable as to whether we are in a recession primarily because of the…

There are two kinds of PE ratios that are typically calculated, absolute PE ratios and relative PE ratios. Absolute PE ratios are essentially a stock’s current price divided by its most recent 12 months of earnings. Relative PE ratios tend to compare a stock’s absolute PE ratio to an industry average or to a stock’s…

As an investor in the stock market, one of the decisions you will have to make is when to buy stocks and the timing of those stock purchases. During the decision-making process you will hear discussions about the current economic environment, including factors such as inflation, deflation, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), unemployment, trade wars, interest…

Having the right investment strategy should help investors with minimizing their low and maximizing their high return years. Investors should focus on the best combination of quality, value, and financial strength when making their stock picks to build their investment portfolios.  Also, it’s not necessary that investors place too much emphasis on a specific industry…

As the Federal Government attempts to put the brakes on historically high inflation, the markets continue to be volatile. Unfortunately for the Fed, their inflation fighting tactics are one-sided in that they have absolutely no control of what is happening on the supply side of the equation. Raising interest rates can certainly reign in demand…

Although history can be used as a guide to help investors get more clarity about the future, it is still important to keep your emotions in check and not let them interfere with your investment decision making process. Let’s face it, no matter what the past says about the future it cannot be predicted by…

Why do certain stocks react negatively to news that interest rates might rise over the long run? Probably because present values of future cash flows will be less and therefore the value of certain stocks should decline. That is a good basic answer, right? Makes sense, but how low should a stock’s price decline if…

The economic news cycle is relentless as news about the domestic and world economy regularly makes the daily headlines. The current talk is about mortgage applications at 22-year lows, Q1 earnings season, inflation, rising interest rates, spiking oil prices and the war between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Although these items are making the news, how…

The goal for any investor is to make money over time by investing in the stock market or any other market utilizing different approaches to accomplish their goals. Some investors seek to not just make money by accepting the market’s average rate of return but to exceed the market’s average return by as much as…

Depending on the type of investment analysis that an investor does, that analysis should give the investor an idea of where the value is in the market. Top-down investment approaches rely more on the investor’s ability to refine their investment approach or style to try to take advantage of where they believe there is value…