On the Edge Again – The Housing Market Review

on the edge (Credit: Construction of a solar passive house by Geres - Acting for climate solidarity on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary June’s housing market showed some evidence of slight cooling with the Spring selling season in its late stages. July’s housing data showed a widening divergence in fortunes between an on-going decline in existing single-family home sales and resilient activity for new single-family homes. Enveloping both markets are elevated pricing pressures. … Read more

Chasing the Outperformance of Home Builders

outperformance (Credit: Dr. Duru at the Charles Shultz Museum)

I assumed the seasonal trade on home builders came to an end some time in May. However, the tailwinds lifting builders higher remain as strong as ever. This strength and outperformance has confused and confounded those assuming higher interest rates would mean disaster for the housing market and an eventual recession. A recent upgrade for … Read more

Running With Picks and Shovels in the Generative AI Race

picks and shovels (Credit: Shovel or Shovel? You Pick by Linda, Fortuna future on Flickr)

NVIDIA Races Ahead Money manager Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is known for being unconventional by making concentrated bets on highly speculative companies, what Wood calls betting on innovation that solves problems. So of course Wood has AI-related bets in the various ARK funds. The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) in particular holds … Read more

A Stock Market Melt-Up With Shrinking Participation – Above the 40 (July 2, 2021)

Stock Market Commentary A stock market melt-up is in full effect. Investopedia defines a melt-up as “…a sustained and often unexpected improvement in the investment performance of an asset or asset class, driven partly by a stampede of investors who don’t want to miss out on its rise, rather than by fundamental improvements in the economy.” … Read more

Nucor Corporation: A Historic Milestone Follows Record Earnings

The Surge The prices of commodities, materials, and their related stocks benefit greatly from the current reflationary macroeconomic environment. One more materials name hit an important milestone this week. Steel company Nucor (NUE) surged right through an all-time high last set in May, 2008. Since last year’s pandemic-drive plunge, NUE has enjoyed its most sustained … Read more