Standard & Poor’s S&P500 Earnings Estimates For 2013 & 2014 – As Of June 21, 2013

As many are aware, Standard & Poor’s publishes earnings estimates for the S&P500.  (My posts concerning their estimates can be found under the S&P500 Earnings tag) For reference purposes, the most current estimates are reflected below, and are as of June 21, 2013: Year 2013 estimates add to the following: -From a “bottom up” perspective, operating earnings of $109.55/share …

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Updates Of Economic Indicators June 2013

Here is an update on various indicators that are supposed to predict and/or depict economic activity.  These indicators have been discussed in previous blog posts: The June Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of June 24, 2013: – The ECRI WLI (Weekly Leading Index): As of 6/21/13 (incorporating data through 6/14/13) the WLI was at …

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Current Economic Situation

With regard to our current economic situation,  my thoughts can best be described/summarized by the posts found under the 25 “Building Financial Danger” posts. My thoughts concerning our ongoing economic situation – with future implications – can be seen on the page titled “A Special Note On Our Economic Situation,” which has been found near …

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St. Louis Financial Stress Index – June 20, 2013 Update

On March 28, 2011 I wrote a post (“The STLFSI“) about the  St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) which is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  For reference purposes, the most recent chart is seen below.  This chart was last updated on June 20, incorporating data from December 31,1993 to June 14, …

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Markets During Periods Of Federal Reserve Intervention – June 20, 2013 Update

In the August 9, 2011 post (“QE3 – Various Thoughts“) I posted a chart that depicted the movements of the S&P500, 10-Year Treasury Yield and the Fed Funds rate spanning the periods of various Federal Reserve interventions since 2007. For reference purposes, here is an updated chart from Doug Short’s blog post of June 20 …

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Ben Bernanke’s June 19, 2013 Press Conference – Notable Aspects

On Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Ben Bernanke gave his scheduled press conference. Below are Ben Bernanke’s comments I found most notable – although I don’t necessarily agree with them – in the order they appear in the transcript.  These comments are excerpted from the “Transcript of Chairman Bernanke’s Press Conference“(preliminary)(pdf) of June 19, 2013, with …

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The S&P500 Vs. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index – June 19, 2013

Starting on May 3, 2010 I have written posts concerning the notable divergence that has occurred between the S&P500 and Chinese (Shanghai Composite) stock markets. The chart below illustrates this divergence; it shows the S&P500 vs. the Shanghai Composite on a daily basis, since 2006: (click on chart to enlarge image)(chart courtesy of StockCharts.com; chart creation and annotation by …

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Thoughts On The Price Of Gold

The price of Gold is particularly important at this juncture, for a number of reasons. I have recently written of the decline in Gold’s price and its significance with regard to “deflationary pressures,” most recently in the June 10 post titled “The Prospect Of Deflation” as well as the May 20 post (seen on Doug …

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