Wade Hansen
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What keeps Carnival execs awake on the high seas?
Earnings season is always an interesting time for corporations because it gives them a chance not only to look back to see how well they performed, but also to look forward to see what lies ahead.Today, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) announced that the company made $1.33 per share during its third quarter, which was much higher than analyst expectations of $1.18.
Okay, so Carnival Corporation had a good quarter last quarter, but what are executives worried about for the future?
Continue reading What keeps Carnival execs awake on the high seas?
FXA soaring on gold prices
Gold bugs around the world have been rejoicing this week as the price of gold has climbed above $1,000 per ounce. On the same note, forex investors with money in the Australian dollar have been rejoicing for the same reason.
You see, the Australian dollar has a cozy relationship with gold. As gold prices go up, the Australian dollar typically goes up, and as gold prices go down, the Australian dollar typically goes down. This relationship stems from the fact that Australia mines and exports a good portion of the world's gold.
Continue reading FXA soaring on gold prices
Gold nears $1K per ounce - Will gold ETFs shut you out?
Gold prices have been rocketing higher the past two days. Since the start of the trading day on Wednesday, September 2, gold prices have climbed from just above $950 per ounce to just below $1,000 per ounce.To put things in perspective, gold prices have only been above $1,000 per ounce on two other occasions---March 2008 and February 2009. Gold prices reached their highest levels on March 17, 2008 (it's quite fitting that the market found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on St. Patrick's day, if you ask me) at $1,033.18 per ounce.
Needless to say, this is an extremely important time for gold prices. If they can break up and through resistance at $1,000, we could see an exponential rise in the value of gold. The question is, will you be able to take advantage of rising gold prices?
Continue reading Gold nears $1K per ounce - Will gold ETFs shut you out?
Wells Fargo climbs out from under the TARP
When the financial crisis really got into full swing, a lot of banks ended up taking TARP money. Some banks needed it, and some banks were forced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to take it.Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was one of those banks that was forced to take TARP money, and now it is making plans to pay the TARP money back.
Here's the interesting thing though. While many of the larger banks have paid the TARP money back, Wells Fargo says it is going to pay the money back without having to go out and raise additional funds for the bank -- something other large banks, like Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), didn't do.
Continue reading Wells Fargo climbs out from under the TARP
If PC commercials are right, Dell should keep on rising
Have you seen those commercials where the young woman or the mom and her kid go into a big box electronics store looking for a new laptop, and when they go inside, they discover that PCs are tons cheaper than Macs so they end up buying the PC?Well, if those commercials are right, Q3 should be a great quarter for computer makers like Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL).
Continue reading If PC commercials are right, Dell should keep on rising
Will housing stocks drop this fall?
If you listen to the majority of economists out there, they will tell you that the collapse of the housing market was one of the major factors that pushed us into the current recession. They will also tell you that a recovery in the housing market will be necessary if we are to ever pull out of this recession.So it's no surprise that, with all of that in mind, economists and investors have been excited to see improvements in the housing market this summer.
For instance, the New Home Sales number released on Wednesday by the Census Bureau showed that sales rose more than expected in July -- to 433,000.
Continue reading Will housing stocks drop this fall?
Reconciliation is a nasty word for healthcare stocks (UNH, WLP and HUM)
Unless you've been spending your summer vacation on a tropical beach with no television or internet access, you have seen that the public reception to Congress' proposals for heathcare reform have not exactly been well accepted. I mean, nut jobs showing up to town hall meetings with guns strapped to their legs isn't really the norm.So you would think that the Republicans who are against a public insurance plan are in control, right? Not so fast.
Congressional Democrats are now talking about splitting the healthcare bills into two parts so they can take advantage of a loophole called reconciliation.
Continue reading Reconciliation is a nasty word for healthcare stocks (UNH, WLP and HUM)
Forecasting the S&P 500; Dusting off the crystal ball
If you are like just about every other stock investor out there, you are asking yourself the question, "Can the market keep going up, or am I going to have to suffer through another decline?"Well, while there is no sure fire way to know exactly if and when the stock market is going to turn around, there are some tools available -- semi-cloudy crystal balls, if you will -- that can give you a heads up when a turnaround may be just around the corner.
Let me show you one of my favorites: the NYSE Bullish Percent Index.
Continue reading Forecasting the S&P 500; Dusting off the crystal ball
Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT)
Deere up on Q4 earnings performance
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
