March 14, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal It sure feels like we are moving towards a point of crisis.  The number two economy in the world is in serious decline; their customers' economies (mostly the U.S. and Europe) have slowed.  The great boom in China appears to be over.  Prime the printing presses [...]Read More >

March 7, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal On Thursday I spoke at the NWA Financial Fitness Forum sponsored by Mach-1 Financial Group in Northwest Arkansas.  The keynote for the event was former Governor Mike Huckabee.  He spoke about the mess in Washington (of course) and his deep belief that they have [...]Read More >

February 28, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal If the big bubble is in the bond market, as I believe, we need to keep a close eye on the direction of interest rates.  I have my own long-term fundamental views towards higher rates (Fed QE driven), but the question is when. Patience is required. As a [...]Read More >

February 20, 2014 Steve joined Paul Vigna on WSJ Live's Money Beat to discuss the Fed's talks of potentially moving up the timeline for raising interest rates. What can investors do? Check out the video. [...]Read More >

February 21, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal One of the upcoming challenges for the Fed, aside from tapering, will be the decision to raise interest rates.  Keep in mind that the equity rally we have experienced has been largely fueled by the Fed (click here for a chart) and it is the end of this [...]Read More >

"Don't Trust the Traditional 60/40 Split" Steve joined Gregg Greenberg at TheStreet.com once again for a discussion on the overvaluation of the market after last year's rally and how to optimize a portfolio allocation despite these ever-changing market conditions. To see the interview on [...]Read More >

February 14, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal “The investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.” - Benjamin Graham   Just what are tactical investment strategies and where might they fit into your clients’ portfolios? A few months ago, I was on Bloomberg [...]Read More >

February 7, 2014 By Daisy Maxey Excerpt: Many high-net-worth investors see recent stock declines as a buying opportunity thanks to lessons learned from the market implosion of 2008-2009. The financial crisis left wealthy investors with a better understanding of risk and of the importance of [...]Read More >

February 7, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal What trips the wire?  The bubble is in the bond market and it just might be the biggest bubble of them all. The headlock we find ourselves in is caused by the massive weight of debt.  We owe too much, we have promised too much and are not making enough.  [...]Read More >

January 31, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal “Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.” – Warren Buffett So where are we today?  I thought about the above quote as I listened to Dr. Jeremy [...]Read More >

January 24, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal I’m deep in season four of Breaking Bad and completely enjoying the series.  Are we Breaking Bad?  Have we become too addicted to the Fed’s super drug (a pure form of liquid currency)?  After all, they are pretty good at making the stuff. This week’s On My [...]Read More >

January 10, 2014 By Steve Blumenthal In this week’s On My Radar, I share the following: Asset Class Returns – An Interesting Look at Annual Returns (best to worst) With All Due Respect – An advisor’s response to last week's On My Radar Time to Pick a Ladder – by Blaine Robbins Trade [...]Read More >

S&P 500 Index 1831 By Steve Blumenthal January 3, 2014 There have been just three times since 1995 that Investor Crowd Sentiment (overall investor confidence in the stock market) has registered a higher bullish reading than today.  To shout caution would be an understatement. In this [...]Read More >

Best ETFs For 2014: 9 Picks From 9 Strategists December 26, 2013 By Trang Ho Investor's Business Daily asked several investment strategists to share their one best ETF that investors should consider buying for 2014. Steve picked ProShares Ultra Short Yen (YCS) as the ETF with the most upside [...]Read More >

December 20, 2013 By Steve Blumenthal “People who habitually purchase common stocks at more than about 20 times their average earnings are likely to lose considerable money in the long run.”  Ben Graham and David Dodd in their 1940 book Security Analysis: Principles and Techniques In [...]Read More >