Clif Droke's Blog

Investors are worried over the prospects that the long-term momentum behind the stock market recovery of 2009-2015 may be in danger of complete dissipation this year. That would mean a certain date with an extended bear market...

To many economists, the biggest mistake the Fed has made has been a lack of aggression in raising interest rates. After all, they reason, the US job market is as strong as it has been since 2007 and the economy, even if sluggish, is at least back...

The most important question investors should be asking at this point isn’t whether the secular bull market which began in 2009 is over, but whether continued equity market weakness in 2016 will lead to the unthinkable, namely an economic recession. A recession in 2016 has been deemed...

Stocks are trying to live up to the expectations for a year-end “Santa Claus” rally. Most of the market’s improving internal condition is due to the latest strength in the energy sector, with the NYSE Oil Index (XOI) rallying some 6% from its recent lows. Although recent trading volume has been far...

A significant undercurrent of internal weakness is plaguing the NYSE broad market. This weakness is primarily visible in the dangerously high numbers of stocks making new 52-week lows. Lately that number has exceeded 300 on a daily basis, though it has been above 40 for the last few months in...

Although the year of release is no longer formally observed, this ancient precept is unconsciously embedded in the financial dealings of Western nations. The debt release cycle can be seen in the recurring price “corrections” of commodity prices, and...

The last 15 years have been among the most turbulent on record. Since the year 2000, America has experienced two recessions (including a near depression), two stock market crashes, numerous selling panics, two terrorist attacks, and one of the slowest economic recoveries on record. Just when...

Now that the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 index have rallied back to the February-July resistance zones, should we expect a resumption of the selling pressure that plagued the market this summer? Or should we rather expect a period of consolidation...

Falling stock and commodity prices around the world are underscoring a change of fortunes for the global economy. As the shockwaves from Europe, China and the developing markets spreads, there is a growing sense among...

The Federal Reserve guessing game ended Thursday after the FOMC made its decision on interest rate policy. The Fed left rates unchanged in a tip of the hat to investors who felt the economy was vulnerable to...