Bullish and Bearish Bellwethers [Note to Readers: in the wake of GameStop’s Reddit-fueled roller coaster ride, the post below is getting renewed attention. To would-be market timers, though, here’s a heads up: the post appeared almost 5 years ago, when the Nasdaq — which contains many high-flying tech stocks — closed at 4,476. Its close...Read More
Bullish and Bearish Bellwethers Just before the 1929 crash, Joseph Kennedy (father of President John F.) was supposed to have dumped all his stocks because a Wall Street shoeshine boy started giving him stock tips. Kennedy reasoned that, if even shoeshine boys were playing the market, there was no remaining, untapped demand to support stock...Read More
Housing Market Leading Indicators What are the signs that a neighborhood is about to be christened that most coveted of labels, “up-and-coming?” One of my favorite bellwethers is (good) new restaurants (dare I say “trendy?”). Such enterprises are budget-conscious, so need to find parts of town with cheaper rent. But, they need to be close enough to...Read More
The Goldilocks Market “Twin Cities Home Prices Best Predictor of U.S. Trends” —headline; U.S. News & World Report (7/30/2014) Call it the “Ohio” of the U.S. housing market. Just as Ohio voters seemingly choose the President every four years (or have, at least every election since 1964), according to Trulia, the Twin Cities housing market...Read More
Edina Realty “Expo 2014” One of the reasons Edina Realty’s annual meeting (called “Expo 2014”) is a “must-attend” for company agents is that it affords us rank-and-file a chance to hear what the brass thinks is in store for the upcoming year. So, what did Bob and Ron Peltier — Home Services of America CEO...Read More
