All-Time Highs Race Ahead of the Data – Housing Market Review

All-Time Highs Race Ahead of the Data

Housing Market Intro and Summary The October housing data showed some further softening, including a revision of the new home sales data that erased a breakout. Yet, November was a blockbuster month for launching the seasonal strength in the stocks of home builders. Many of these stocks hit all-time highs in a race ahead of … Read more

Acuity Brands: The Business Uncertainties from Tariff and Wage Inflation

I last mentioned Acuity Brands (AYI), a lighting and building management solutions company with $3.7B in net sales in 2018, three months ago. At that time, I described a good risk/reward setup to go long the stock post-earnings. AYI shot nearly straight up from there. The stock broke through resistance at its 200-day moving average … Read more

Vornado Anticipates A Major Economic Expansion And A Bubble; Fears the Internet

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 14, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) I quickly caught a Bloomberg headline about plans from Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) to sell more than it buys. I went to the VNO 2012 annual report to see for myself … Read more

NAR Forecasts No Recovery for Commercial Real Estate This Year

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) released its latest projections for commercial real estate (CRE). The outlook remains grim as the NAR forecasts no recovery in CRE this year. Rents are expected to decline across all segments (although slightly lower than last year’s rent declines) as vacancy rates remain extremely high. CRE is not expected … Read more

Dubai Debacle to Dubai Blip…or Warm-up?

Now that major markets worldwide have completely recovered from the Dubai debacle of last week, it is easy to consider this episode just another blip on the way to eternal bliss. Not even the U.S. dollar could sustain more than a mirage of strength on this “temporary crisis” (I had thought that even after the … Read more

Fastenal Confirms Continuing Weakness in Non-Residential Construction

Fastenal (FAST) is a $5.8B market cap industrial company that supplies components and parts for construction and manufacturing. FAST reported earnings yesterday that again confirmed a recurring theme of weakness in non-residential construction. This area has often been called “the next shoe to drop” that will presage further weakness in the economy. This drop has … Read more