Chart of the Week

By John Del Vecchio I like to look for extremes in the markets. Extremes often pinpoint areas where returns can be higher and risk lower than in other time periods. Take the relationship between commodities and stocks. The chart below shows that commodities haven not been cheaper than stocks in a generation. Could the relationship…

By Brad Lamensdorf and John Del Vecchio The yield curve is inverting, which means that long-term interest rates might start to trade below short-term interest rates. If the past is any indicator of the future, it could mean that we are staring a recession in the face. If investors are concerned about the economy, they…

Should You Sell in May and Go Away?   By John Del Vecchio There’s an old market saying to “sell in May and go away”. Over time, a heavy seasonal pattern of stronger stock price performance from the late fall to early spring has developed. But, just blindly following a Wall Street maxim can also…

By John Del Vecchio Chances are, if you watch the talking heads on TV, they are drooling all over themselves about the Federal Reserve and what actions members plan to take on interest rates. It’s the Fed this and the Fed that. But, the interest rate that really matters is LIBOR. LIBOR stands for the…

By John Del Vecchio Subprime auto loan delinquencies are now higher than during the financial crisis in 2008-09. As you can see from the chart below, the 60+ day delinquencies rate for subprime auto loans has surged in recent years and is approaching 6%. Looser credit standards might be to blame for the rise in…