Paying Dividends

Paying Dividends

  In the current era of meme stocks, it can be easy to forget that the underlying companies in the stock market are real businesses with real profits and cashflows—and that sometimes they choose to pay those cashflows out to investors in the form of dividends....
What’s Your Policy?

What’s Your Policy?

  Does government policy matter to the stock market? According to our featured indicator this week—the Real Monetary, Fiscal, and Exchange Rate Policy Index—the answer is a resounding yes. The policy index is a combination of the year-to-year change of the real...
In Breadth We Thrust

In Breadth We Thrust

  You can describe the idea of a “thrust” in numerous ways. A sudden or violent lunge comes to mind, like the propulsive force produced by a rocket or a jet plane. But in the world of finance, we have a more technical definition: a lot of stocks going up in a...
The Inflation Indicator

The Inflation Indicator

  The standard economic definition of inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level in an economy. It’s worrisome because inflation can lead to an increase in the cost of living. Why? Because if the prices for goods and services in an economy are...
Sell in May and Go Away

Sell in May and Go Away

  “Sell in May, go away, and don’t come back till St. Leger’s Day.” That old English rhyme refers to a custom that originated in Britain where the bankers would flee the city of London during the hot summer months to relax in the countryside. They would then...