Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jun 24, 2016

Brexit: Secession Bells Are Ringing!
First Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C., where the first secession convention in the United States opened on Dec. 17, 1860. Source: Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Photo. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 24 Jun. 2016. Global markets are plunging, and the implosion may still be in the early innings. Market valuations remain stretched among stagnant global economic growth, and “Brexit” may be the catalyst for a correction.

May 23, 2016

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 20
Let's take a look at companies raising/lowering their dividends this week.

Apr 7, 2016

Debt, Debt and More Debt
Image Source: Michael Fleshman. A shocking statistic in education, an important “hidden” data point on auto sales, trouble at the malls, tracking the commercial aerospace cycle, and our thesis on banking equities continues to ring true...

Feb 23, 2016

Recent Add Cracker Barrel Surges Ahead; BHP Cuts
We liked what we heard in Cracker Barrel’s outlook, and the Dividend Cushion ratio again comes up big in warning about BHP’s dividend cut.

Feb 16, 2016

We Like the News! Buffett Scoops Up Kinder Morgan; FVE: $20
Let’s talk about the market action February 16.

Feb 12, 2016

Your Hard-Earned Money
Valuentum is releasing its February Best Ideas Newsletter early, February 12, in light of Presidents’ Day weekend.

Jan 19, 2016

Excited About Putting Cash to Work…Eventually
Patience is so important in selecting entry points. You wouldn’t overpay for a bag of groceries, so why would you overpay for stock? Wait for the right price because you might just get it in this market.

Oct 19, 2015

Investment Banking Round Up: Citigroup’s Equity To Rapidly Converge to Tangible Book?
The US financial system remains on solid ground, but we still prefer diversified exposure to the financials sector, if any at all. Citigroup could see shares surge to $60 each in a heartbeat.

Sep 18, 2015

The Fed Freezes; Outlook as Bad as Feared or Worse?
The global economy may be far worse than even some pessimists believe, as the need for a continued ZIRP (zero interest-rate policy) remains the Fed’s tactic, at least for now.

Sep 15, 2015

As the World Turns
We’re keeping our eyes on a number of things. First, we’re monitoring property prices in Shanghai and in other larger Chinese cities to assess the potential calamity that falling housing prices and deflation would have on the country’s banking sector and the likelihood of contagion via the British banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, and the US ones, namely Citigroup and JP Morgan. Second, we’re watching the price of crude oil closely, as its fall will have huge implications on the earnings trajectory of companies that benefit (airlines, restaurants) as well as the ones that suffer (upstream and energy services). The net effect of falling crude oil prices has thus far been negative for S&P 500 earnings, but this may change as the energy sector becomes an ever-smaller part of index construction. Third, who can forget about the Fed, the expected duration of any tightening monetary cycle, and the resulting implications on dividend-paying stocks as Treasury yields rise?