Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup in another edition of Happy Hour.

Impact of Lower Oil

So far this year the S&P is up almost 10%. Not everything is rosy inside the S&P 500. The energy sector doesn’t want to play along. Oil stocks are the biggest losers this year. The past week, its dragged the S&P with it. Falling oil prices are the primary reason.

If you own oil companies or anything directly or indirectly associated with oil, those investments are getting crushed. And the list is growing. You can add high yield bonds, solar stocks, and a few countries in the global market. Continue Reading…

Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup in another edition of Happy Hour.

Day Trading 3.0

Mobility and the internet of things does a great job of breaking down long-standing barriers, for better or worse. Though, a couple of barriers should probably stay up. The Verge recently reported on one such example.

The story about someone, a high school kid no less, who got lucky day trading penny stocks is enough to convince a few people they can do it too. The falling transaction costs of trading is another excuse to try. The fact trading can now be done anywhere with a cell signal makes it more troubling. Continue Reading…

Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup in another edition of Happy Hour.

Happy Thanksgiving

Over 150 years ago, 1863 to be exact, President Lincoln finally proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a national holiday so we can forego our diet, stuff our face, and watch football with friends and family. Continue Reading…

Welcome to the end of the week! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks roundup in another edition of Happy Hour.

Short Term Opportunities

Jeremy Grantham, in the recent GMO Quarterly Letter (PDF), offers his perspective on the state of the markets, along with a discussion on the history and future of oil. The market info is a good read, but his thoughts on fossil fuels were interesting. He points out how oil has been a driver or a drag on the global economy depending on the price. Continue Reading…