John PickartAug 20, 20201 minA Dry SummerDrought conditions persist in much of western U.S. Besides the headlines coming out of California, some other key areas are experiencing ...
John PickartAug 18, 20201 minCommodities v. StocksEquities continue to outperform commodities. During the last decade commodities have not only lagged stocks but have absolute declines in...
John PickartAug 14, 20201 minUsed Car Prices ReboundThere has been a significant rebound in used car prices from the lows in April. According to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, prices...
John PickartAug 13, 20201 minGold Vol.Gold volatility, as measured by the gold etf, has come off of highs but still elevated compared with recent history (black line). Vol als...
John PickartJul 28, 20201 minMy 2 cents on USDThere has been recent commentary on the drop in the U.S. Dollar. Typically, moves in the dollar are measured by an index of developed cou...
John PickartJul 24, 20201 minHedge Funds during 2020 Round TripHedge fund performance this year has varied depending on the type of strategy. With the S&P 500 making a round trip this year and now rou...
John PickartJul 20, 20201 minDot-com Echos?Another big day for tech stocks with the NASDAQ 100 up 2.9%. There have been some comparisons with the dot-com period. The top panel of t...
John PickartJul 15, 20201 minFastenal Daily Sales Rise AgainFastenal's June daily sales rose 9.5% yoy down from May's 14.8% pace. Fasteners, the largest segment, fell 11.4% in June vs. a 15.3% drop...
John PickartJul 9, 20201 minGold & Silver ETF Holdings IncreasePrecious metals holdings in ETFs have increased in 2020. Gold ETFs currently hold 104.2 million ounces of gold, an increase of 25.7% from...
John PickartJun 30, 20201 minStocks Zoom in QuarterAn extraordinary quarter for equities. The S&P 500 increased 20% for the quarter, the best performance since 2011. With tech stocks conti...
John PickartJun 16, 20201 minFastenal Daily Sales up 14.8% vs Year AgoIt's only one company but Fastenal sells products to a wide range of industrial customers and provides a glimpse into production activity...
John PickartJun 12, 20201 minOld School with M1Here is another sign of just how extraordinary the recent government and Federal Reserve actions have been; the money supply measured by ...
John PickartJun 3, 20201 minU.S. Equity valuation vs. EuropeThe S&P 500 has rebounded by 39.1% from this year's closing low on 3/23 while the Euro Stoxx 50 index is up 37% from it's closing low on ...
John PickartMay 15, 20201 minRig Counts Dropping QuicklyU.S. oil rig count fell to 258 or 62% from December 2019. This is a level not seen since 2009. Crude oil production, using the DOE weekly...
John PickartMay 13, 20201 minProfit Margins & EPSProfit margins had been elevated until this year but are still above average. The top panel of the chart shows S&P 500 profit margin in o...
John PickartMay 12, 20201 minFastenal Sales up 6.7% in AprilFastenal daily sales were up 6.7% during April. Sales of safety equipment were up 119.7%, more than offsetting the fastener decline of 22...
John PickartMay 7, 20201 minReal Yields NegativeReal yields negative and that doesn't take into account taxes. Currently, the 10-year U.S. treasury constant maturity yield is 0.72% (blu...
John PickartMay 5, 20201 minStock and Bond ValuationsHere's a historical look at stock vs. bond valuations. This simply compares the S&P 500 earnings yield (E/P or inverse of P/E) to the 10-...
John PickartApr 24, 20201 minUsed Car Prices CrashUsed car prices in the U.S. during the first 15 days of April fell 11.8% from March according to Manheim. If this holds for the remainder...
John PickartApr 22, 20201 minCrude Roll YieldThe turmoil (pun intended) in the crude oil markets this week suggests it's time for a review of futures markets. The roll yield causes a...