In military terminology, mobilization is the act of assembling and readying troops and supplies for war. During the Second World War, this gave rise to President Roosevelt’s 1940 call to arms and the mobilization of America’s industrial capacity. “Arsenal of Democracy” was the slogan that the President used to underline America’s commitment to give the … Continued
Sigma is Open for Business: As we survey the landscape we want to make sure that there is no question about Sigma being OPEN for business. – We are taking every precaution and making sure we are following the CDC and other government guidelines to protect our employees, doing our best to help them remain … Continued
We live in interesting times. The current stock market behavior is reminiscent of the dot.com bust, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis, to name a few. During moments like these, the market is responding not only to weakening economic fundamentals, but also fear and panic that arises during periods of uncertainty. The global effort to … Continued
In a period of uncertainty, making drastic changes to one’s portfolio when asset prices are fluctuating by 5% to 10% per day is not a sound strategy. Clearly, we are in uncharted waters and surrounded with a great deal of uncertainty. However, there is certainty of a recovery as we look beyond this short term … Continued
The news changes so quickly that anything written seems to be almost obsolete before the send button can be pushed. However, the 50,000 foot view remains relevant. As my colleague Bob Bilkie wrote in a portion of yesterday’s Sigma blog: it’s at times like these that we have to remain clearheaded and look beyond the … Continued
This sounds like a cliché, but it’s at times like these that we have to remain clearheaded and look beyond the current financial despair. The economy will recover from the short term, coronavirus-inspired weakness and advance to renewed prosperity. So too will the financial markets. At Sigma, we have seen and lived through many periods … Continued
Over the weekend, two major oil producing nations, Saudi Arabia and Russia, lost any semblance of diplomacy on discussions related to oil supply. With no finesse, the Saudi’s announced production increases and this led to a monumental drop in oil prices and the sheer magnitude and timing shocked financial markets. In the long run, market-based, … Continued
This is a quotation attributed to Winston Churchill. It may well have some relevance today. Taken at face value, the quotation has considerable merit. But left unsaid, is the importance of information. Investors should be careful to not overreact to scary events and while courage can be a valuable attribute, informed courage is more likely … Continued
The stock market is going to react directly and proportionally to real time corona virus news. SARS and MERS were the precedents and warmer weather muted the virility of those viruses. Hence, it could be a few more weeks of volatility. All comments and or suggestions are welcome. Robert M. Bilkie, CFA
Wikipedia describes the subscription business model as one in which a customer must pay a recurring amount at regular intervals for access to a product or service. This model was pioneered by the publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and is now used by many businesses, charities and websites. Investors seem to … Continued
Everyone is talking coronavirus, but I do not think you can discount the effect of the “Bernie Bug.” Those two issues collided this weekend and left traders unnerved. I think in the short term, the volatility will take its course with some follow through and the direction will be tied to the latest news reports … Continued
Return on investment (ROI) is a profitability measure that calculates the profit on an investment as a percentage of the original cost. In other words, it measures how much money was made on an investment as a percentage of the purchase price. ROI allows investors to determine the efficiency of each dollar invested in a … Continued
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