Gary Jakacky's Comments

Claims: It Just Doesn't Get Much Better

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:06:58 -0400

Way to go CBP. At a time when everyone can't wait to put their lips on Krugman's Tush, you make me proud to be an economist.

A slide in commodity prices turns into a rout: GLD -3.2%, SLV -4.2%, USO -3%, Copper (JJC) -2.2%. At $1,506/oz., gold is threatening a $1,400 handle for the first time in nearly 2 years. After an early bounce, stocks move to session lows, the S&P 500 -0.7%. The long bond gains three-quarters of a full point, its yield down to a 2013 low of 2.93%. Update at 11:05: Now off 4.3%, gold slips below $1,500.

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:31:33 -0400

Boy those North Koreans sure are scaring the markets!

The Sequester Doesn't Cut Spending At All

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:22:35 -0500

Chart number two should be shoved up the butt of every politician and newsmedia squawkhead. If i was captain of the budget ship and my first mate handed this chart, i'd say steady as she goes.

Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -11%) plunge at the close on news that it's being probed by U.S. regulators over the safety of its robots. The regulators have contacted surgeons at key hospitals, requesting that they list any complications they may have seen with ISRG's surgical robots.

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:31:01 -0500

Let's hope the company, the surgeons, and the hospitals can make a convincing case that the robots are worthwhile. ISRG should have an immediate in-house response by the time the market opens tomorrow.

After being up nearly 4% earlier, Italy's FTSE MIB (EWI) turns negative as Berlusconi's coalition - at this moment - looks to have taken the Senate. Along with that is the surprisingly poor showing by Brussels' man in Rome, Mario Monti. He's now at 8% - too small to be allowed any influence over the new government. Up nearly 3% earlier, the Stoxx 50 (FEZ) is back to flat. The euro clings to a tiny slice of its earlier gains.

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:15:41 -0500

Good...the worse "Brussels men" do EVERYWHERE, the sooner Europe will collapse and the world can form a new coalition of economic powers, not wannabes.

Oil is set to fall by 30% this year, says Levitt Capital's Robert Levitt. The impact of increased shale oil supplies have been drastically underestimated by the markets, Levitt says. This increase, when combined with the resolution of pipeline transportation issues, should ease upward pressure on oil prices. "Once we have all these issues straightened out, the price of oil is going to come down and that will be a great boom for the global economy."

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:22:38 -0500

No more peak oil. Now it's PEEK? OIL!

The entire recovery from March 2009 had been generated by investments and expansion by the oil/natural gas industries. The Anointed One's stimulus I, II, III...and the FEDs QExx's have been irrelevant.

The Business Of Cancer

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:48:55 -0500

Liked it till ya mentioned Delcath. All they ever sell is more shares.

Europe closes with solid losses, equity prices popping then dropping following Mario Draghi's talking down of the euro. Stoxx 50 -0.8%, led by Italy -1.5%. The Italy ETF (EWI) -3% today, -7% over the past 5 sessions. Germany (EWG) manages to close green, +0.2%. Euro ETF (FXE) -1%.

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:20:57 -0500

The Euro is dead...death to europe!

Worst Economic Policy Decision Of The Year, Argentina Edition

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:12:46 -0500

Oh PUNDIT you disappoint so many socialist weenies who infest SA these days! A government OTHER THAN THE US maipulating its data! What's next? Fiev year plans, collective farms and permanent famine? No doubt caused by global warming.

Pity The Chinese - Update

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:00:14 -0500

Wait till the prices on 30 year TBonds tank as the recovery pushes long term interest rates back up. Leave the Chinese holding the bag until 2043!

The ECRI Weekly Leading Index rises to 130.6 from 130.4 last week. The annualized growth rate pops to 7.2% from 6.1%, the highest level since April 2011.

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:55:13 -0500

LOVE THIS RECESSION! Keep it coming ECRI.

Shares of natural gas producers Chesapeake (CHK +5.3%) and Southwestern Energy (SWN +2.9%) rally as a dangerous cold snap hits the eastern and midwestern U.S., boosting demand and prices for the fuel. The east coast is seeing "some of the coldest weather in two years," Kilduff Report analysts say. The cold is expected to continue, according to extended forecasts.

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:52:08 -0500

No doubt this cold snap is further proof of global warming.

China could be the biggest loser in the U.S. energy boom, according to German intelligence agency BND. If the U.S. is able to do without Middle East oil, the balance of power between the U.S. and China would shift toward the U.S.; China will become dependent on the Arabian peninsula to meet its growing oil demand, but won't have the military power to protect its energy sources and transportation routes.

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:40:57 -0500

Poor China..hemmed by a barrier of islands from Khamchatka to Taiwan. Couldn't happen to bunch of NICER guys!

Three lunchtime reads: 1) Will Europe kill the rally? 2) A confidence hit for U.S. housing? 3) Four ways to become a better self-directed investor

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:22:43 -0500

Europe: Will someone please tell me how the collapse of a socialist zone is bad for markets?

4 Ways To Become A Better Self-Directed Investor

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:15:18 -0500

FOTM: I thought it meant foam at the mouth; but whatever!

Three lunchtime reads: 1) Preparing for the unthinkable: Could markets handle a U.S. default? 2) Peak oil theories 'increasingly groundless', says BP chief 3) PM: Britain to drift out of EU without reforms

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:10:30 -0500

(1) Lets hope the US writes off massive amounts of its debt, especially to china. Interest rates will be higher on new bonds, but this is exactly what the treasury needs: to realize its true cost of borrowing.

(2) Peak oil is long dead. Not it is, "Peak? OIL!"

(3) Attempts to pry Britain and Germany out of the EU (which would destroy it) should be an American economic, political, diplomatic and military objective.

Labor Market Keeps On Improving

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:40:12 -0500

Pundit makes me proud to be an economist. After all the bellyaching and naysayers the economy is about to enter its 4th year of recovery. Where is the ECRI with its "imminent recession forecast" of the last two years? As usual, entrepreneurship (especially in the energy and basic materials sectors) have caused the recovery, which is only being held back by Obamanible economic policy and low interest rates.

Three lunchtime reads: 1) Why the U.S. economic crisis is a depression and not a recession 2) Recognizing the need for economic adjustment in China 3) The high yield market is 'completely out of control'

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:09:31 -0500

Depression not a recession....hahahaha.... Currents midday update is always good for an overdose of whackjobs.

The Real Economy Vs. The Ivory Tower: Does Charles Plosser Live On Mars?

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:27:58 -0500

Oilfinder:

==>You've accomplished the rare feat of writing something that had already been wrong for a year-and-a-half by the time you wrote it. <==

Not rare at all. Some analysts and seek alpha acolytes think the inflation rate "REALLY," is 15% or whetever; that the unemployment rate, "REALLY," is 10% or whatever. And the ECRI has been forecasting a recession for so long they soon will receive a copy of JK Galbraith's Nobel prize; since he spent most of his postwar years waiting for a new depression.

By the way oilfinder, you realize we are "running out of oil,?" don't you?

Equal Weight Vs. Marketed Weight Indexes: Not An Issue With The Transportation ETF

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:41:52 -0500

I am using the words "equal weighted" in the mathematical sense of the term. Each price of each stock carries the same weight as any other. Add up all the prices and divide by the divisor (given...nice work on a rainy day) and you'll get the index value. Most of the time we just use the term simple average.

A "weighted average" assigns different weights to the various stock prices based upon some criteria. A student who has grades of 80, 85 and 90 on 3 exams that have weights of 30%, 30% and 40% of his final grade must use weighted average methodology to get his final semester grade.

None of the Dow averages do this. They are simple (equal) weighted.

Underperforming Sector ETFs Sending Optimistic Economic Message

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:35:08 -0500

Thanks. I could have continued with more ETFs but I wanted to make the basic point: markets are saying 2013 will be a stronger year than 2012.

How To Interpret FAST Graphs™

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:57:09 -0500

====>Chuck, are there any plans to expand your graphs site to broadly cover international stocks....<==========

Not so F.A.S.T.! Sorry Dan and Chuck....I couldn't pass it up!

Underperforming Sector ETFs Sending Optimistic Economic Message

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:45:38 -0500

No. I would believe market based indicators, which are based on foresight by brazillions of individual investors, long before I would believe economic indicators, which are based on past data and subject to revision.

Underperforming Sector ETFs Sending Optimistic Economic Message

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:17:34 -0500

Well ETFster I am just trying to draw a conclusion from some data. If the economy was doing poorly---and like it or not, we are about to enter the fourth year of a modest recovery--- then the assortment of ETF performances would be different.

Philanthropist Yossie Hollander Talks Fuel Freedom

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:35:02 -0500

The less WASHINGTON has to say about our energy policy, and the more BUSINESSES and consumers have to say about it, the better off we will be. We can start by eliminating DOE entirely.

Electric vehicle roundup: 1) The NHTSA says vehicles traveling slower than 18 mph must make an audible noise that can be detected by bicyclists and pedestrians. The agency thinks the measure will only add about $35 to manufacturing costs. 2) Year-end sales totals for Chevrolet Volt (GM) indicate the model saw sales grow 206% to 7,671 units, below some early sales targets but above dour estimates from notable EV critics. 3) Chatter on the Tesla (TSLA) Forums indicates the automaker saw a surge of activity late in Q4 which could tip off it met its quarterly production goal.

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:34:42 -0500

If you are driving less than 18 mph, roll dwon your window and grumble Vrooom Vroom! It is alot cheaper.

Can You Retire With A $1,000,000 Portfolio? An Urgent Follow Up

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:17:09 -0500

Stale, discredited data:

"While women in general still only earn roughly 77% of what a man earns doing the same job,..."

This includes SELF EMPLOYED WIMMIN', who also earn about 2/3rds of their male counterparts. So the wimmin' are discriminating against themselves?

How To Screen For Wonderfully Boring Stocks

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:08:49 -0500

Just don't let the tail WAG the dog!

The Great Recession Is Over: Time To Back Up The Truck

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:06:28 -0500

The recession ended in 2009 and the bull market began in 2009 as well. But party hearty!

Windows 8 (MSFT) is being adopted at a slower rate than the much-maligned Vista, and a much slower rate than Windows 7, according to usage data from Net Applications. As of Dec. 22, Win. 8 was used on an estimated 1.6% of all Windows PCs. This compares with 2.2% for Vista at a similar point in its release history, and 6%+ for Win. 7. Consumer PC demand remains tepid, and many enterprises have made it clear they have no interest in upgrading to Win. 8, at least for now.

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:51:21 -0500

I used a Win8 PC down at the mall. It crashed while I was using it. F**K Win8.