matt thalman Archives - Page 39 of 44

Three Industries And A Few ETF's That Will Benefit From A Fed Rate Hike

Posted on November 23, 2015November 22, 2015 by Matt Thalman

Based on economic data and what the Federal Reserve Committee members have been saying over the past few weeks, it would appear the US Central Bank is ready to increase interest rates for the first time since 2006. The Fed has held the benchmark rate near zero since 2008 to help spur economic growth. But with the US economy moving forward, the days of cheap money may be numbered.

I recently wrote about why I believe the Fed will raise rates at the December Fed meeting so today I would like to point out a few industries that could benefit from a rate increase and some ETF'S that focus on those industries. Continue reading "Three Industries And A Few ETF's That Will Benefit From A Fed Rate Hike" →

Fed Watch: December Rate Hike Likely Based on Fed Official's Language

Posted on November 19, 2015November 18, 2015 by Matt Thalman

Over the past few weeks, the likelihood of a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve Bank has grown substantially. Both economic data and hints from a number of Federal Reserve policymakers now point towards a December rate hike and now on Wall Street 70% of investors polled believe a rate hike in December is possible. So let us take a look at the data and what Fed officials are saying that is making investors believe a hike is coming.

Data

One of the most compelling data points is the October jobs number. Expected to come in at 185,000, but blew that figure out of the water when actually coming in at 271,000. The unemployment rate fell to 5%, from 5.1% and average hourly earnings rose 0.4% for the month. Furthermore, the increase in pay on a year-over-year basis was 2.5%, the highest increase the jobs market has seen since July 2009. Continue reading "Fed Watch: December Rate Hike Likely Based on Fed Official's Language" →

ETF's That Let You Trade the Volatility Index "VIX"

Posted on November 9, 2015November 6, 2015 by Matt Thalman

One of the many great side effects to the rise in popularity of Exchange Traded Funds, ETF's, is that they have increased the types of investments individuals can buy into. The average investor can now easy buy and sell funds that hold actual commodities, indexes, bond portfolios, and even dabble in the options markets without ever making a signal put or call trade themselves.

Today, I would like to point out how investors can use ETF's to play the S&P 500 Volatility Index or VIX.

But, before we get into the ETF's that allow you to profit from the VIX's moves, let take a look at the VIX itself and what causes it to move in one direction or the other. The VIX is calculated using option pricing. It looks at the price of the call and put options because we know that higher option prices mean that investors believe there is a greater chance of volatility. Without getting into too much detail about options, the reason this works is because if an underlying security has high volatility it can make an option more or less valuable depending on what side of the trade you are on. Because the level of volatility will change the likelihood, the option will expire in or out of the money.

Are you confused yet? Continue reading "ETF's That Let You Trade the Volatility Index "VIX"" →

How To Invest Alongside "Shark Tanks" Kevin O'Leary

Posted on October 19, 2015October 21, 2015 by Matt Thalman

Up until just a few years ago the name Kevin O'Leary didn't mean much to most investors. But, with O'Leary starring on the hit TV show "Shark Tank", now most investors, as well as the general public at least, recognize the name. Furthermore, if you often watch Shark Tank you likely have a good idea of how "Mr. Wonderful", O'Leary's nickname on Shark Tank, likes to invest.

Mr. O'Leary often asks for a royalty deal, a few dollars every time an item is sold when giving entrepreneurs money. While some of the other investors on the show often criticize O'Leary for building in the royalty deal, claiming he is taking advantage of people, the idea behind the royalty is so that O'Leary can get his initial investment back in a reasonable amount of time. Furthermore, it acts as a safety net for O'Leary if the company he invests in is a massive winner at first but, doesn’t have the longevity to grow and become a long-term successful organization.

While the sarcastic nickname O'Leary has received on the show may not make him the best partner for an entrepreneur, it shows that he not only is a wise investor but someone that limits their risk as much as possible. For some investors, this sounds like the kind of guy they would love to be able to invest with. I mean honestly, who hasn’t watched Shark Tank and thought to themselves how cool it would be if they could partner with one of the investors on the show?

Well, you know can! Continue reading "How To Invest Alongside "Shark Tanks" Kevin O'Leary" →

6 Ways To Play The Biotech Industry Moving Forward

Posted on October 16, 2015October 15, 2015 by Matt Thalman

In September Biotech stocks got hammered. Most market participants blamed the massive decline on Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On September 21, Clinton tweeted "Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. Tomorrow I'll lay out a plan to take it on." Clinton was referring to a drug called Daraprim, a 65-year-old drug, which recently saw its price increase from $13.50 per pill to $750.

While there are arguments for and against why Daraprim and other drugs increase in price, an industry-wide reform on how prices are set would likely hurt nearly every company in the biotech space. And that was what Clinton essentially proposed last month. With uncertainty surrounding the industry, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI) fell by more than 15% just in September compared to a decline of just 4.4% for the S&P 500 during the month. Continue reading "6 Ways To Play The Biotech Industry Moving Forward" →

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