Category: Economy

Over the weekend, Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf coast and is still pounding Houston with unprecedented rainfall. The storm is causing major flooding, and has so far taken the lives of five people. That and the disruption, even devastation, of the lives of many more is, and should be, the focus of most people, but there will also be... Read More

Just when you thought it was safe to focus on other things than North Korea, Kim Jong-un last night launched a missile from Pyongyang over Hokkaido, the main northernmost island of the country of Japan. It’s a clearly provocative move meant to get the attention of President Trump as much as anyone else. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wasted no... Read More

Punditry is about having instant opinions on everything. In an age when information can be accessed immediately, people are looking for an instant reaction to news and data as well. Sometimes, however, a considered response is far more useful. The simple phrase “I don’t know” is anathema to most who write for the internet but is, at times, the only... Read More

Ahead of the bell this morning on the first trading day of a new week, all port of Houston facilities remain closed following Hurricane Harvey slamming the Southeastern coast of Texas last Friday. Of all ports in the U.S., Houston’s ranks #1 in foreign tonnage, especially in oil and gasoline exports. Much of metropolitan Houston remains under water, with more... Read More

“For now at least, it has become hard to risk capital on the price of oil with as much conviction as in the past.”—Andy Hall, famed oil trader, on shuttering his oil hedge fund. If Andy Hall is confused, what does that say about the rest of us? This checklist tries to identify some of the anomalies in the global... Read More

Hurricane Harvey is expected to be classified a Category 3 hurricane before it strikes the coast of Southeast Texas this morning, jeopardizing the oil refinery industry located in  and around Houston, the 4th largest city in the United States. This is a major hub for oil refineries, both U.S.-based and from elsewhere around the world. Rainfall could reach up to... Read More

At this time every year, the Kansas City Fed hosts their Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It is a meeting of economic minds like no other, with central bankers from the developed and developing worlds, academics, and executives gathering to discuss the major issues of the day. The highlight of this year’s meeting comes today, when the two... Read More

My analysis of home sales recently has become more and more pessimistic. This past week both new home sales and existing home sales were fairly soft. It is not just that the single month’s data that is bad – but it is the deteriorating trend lines over the past year which are concerning. New Home Sales: unadjusted sales growth decelerated... Read More

By Mike Golembesky, ElliottWaveTrader.net The Dow Jones Industrial Average has moved down close to 600 points off of the high that was struck on August 8th into August 21st lows. Now in percentage terms, this 600 point move is quite a small only representing a move of just 2.6%. In fact, at today’s close, the Dow was only down some 1.2% off... Read More

Believe it or not, we actually try to keep our political discussions here at Zacks.com to a minimum. Who someone votes for is ultimately none of our concern; we are interested in the pursuit of making money in the stock market through Zacks methodologies and keeping our eyes open to the world around us, especially toward that which directly affects... Read More