Trader Talk

A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 19, 2021. Andrew Kelly | Reuters The markets: it’s August, but it’s also covid. Normal August trading flows are being greatly complicated by the delta variant. A third but still important complication: increasingly authoritarian action in China is

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE Retail earnings have never been better, but the delta variant remains the wildcard. In theory, this is a golden moment for retailers, which begin reporting earnings this week. Consider the following: The consumer is flush. The American consumer has never had more disposable cash

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 18, 2021. Source: NYSE Stock rotation: anti-lockdown, anti-low yields.   We are halfway through the third quarter, with the S&P 500 up a respectable 3.8% in the last six weeks. Even while a lot of traders are on the beach, there are two big narratives in

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The head of the SEC says that crypto assets need a lot more regulation before they can move forward. Speaking at the

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 25, 2021. Source: NYSE We’re halfway through second-quarter earnings. The results not only continue to beat forecasts by a wide margin, but estimates for the third and fourth quarter — and now even for 2022 — are continuing to rise. And most say estimates

The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy is less than two months away. There will be many commemorations, many reflections on how downtown New York and the country has changed since then. But for the people who lived and worked downtown during that time and are still with us, this is also time to take

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said Wednesday he wants mandatory disclosure on climate risks, and he wants the agency to

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), July 21, 2021. Brendan McDermid | Reuters A quarter of the way through earnings season, we are headed toward the best profit growth in over a decade.  One fourth of the S&P 500 has now reported second-quarter earnings.  Overall earnings are now expected

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE I have several friends in the restaurant business. For the past few weeks, I’ve heard the same story every weekend: business is fabulous, and we can’t get enough help. This week, several of those restaurant people asked me what was going on with these Covid

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE Earnings season begins with two major tailwinds:  sky high prices and sky-high expectations.  On paper, second quarter earnings looks like the mother of all earnings reports, with estimates having risen steadily for the past six months, from expected 45% growth in January to

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE The floor of the New York Stock Exchange, which has been quiet in the past year, has suddenly come to life. Traders have been returning, restrictions have been relaxed so more visitors can come on the floor, and the IPO business is booming.

Gary Gensler Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler is fleshing out his thoughts on climate risk and human capital disclosure. The SEC recently concluded a public comment period on expanding corporate climate disclosures. It has also launched a climate and ESG enforcement task force. In a speech

Traders on the NYSE, May 3, 2021. Source: NYSE Can you make an exchange-traded fund out of activist investing?  Earlier this month, Engine No. 1 came out of nowhere and won three board seats at Exxon Mobil after a six-month proxy fight. The company wants Exxon needed to significantly reduce emissions and move toward a

In this article STT Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE This will be a very tricky Federal Reserve meeting for traders, but it won’t be much easier even after the gathering. Even if the Fed adopts a best-case, stay-the-course-on-tapering-and-rate-hikes scenario at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday afternoon,

Traders working at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on May 19, 2021. NYSE Is the great value rotation over?  The S&P 500 is at a historic high, but investors who earlier this year overweighted their portfolios into reopening stocks like Caterpillar and banks, and away from tech and other growth stocks, appear to be

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE The Federal Reserve, which has played a big part in confusing the markets, may be helping to clear things up. What happened to the argument that inflation would blow up bond yields? So far, it has been wrong.  With bond yields lower, not