Consumer
Stocks Inch Higher as Money Keeps Shifting to New Areas

Stocks Inch Higher as Money Keeps Shifting to New Areas

Last week was a lot more interesting than it seemed. After all, the S&P 500 rose just 0.6 percent in the holiday-shortened week between Friday, February 15 and Friday, February 22. Most other major indexes hardly budged, either. But there was disruption beneath...

Are Inflation Stars Lining Up for Leisure Stocks?

Are Inflation Stars Lining Up for Leisure Stocks?

Something unusual is happening with prices, and it's become good news for certain companies this year. Inflation data from the government shows the price of services rose 2.7 percent year over year in January, while commodities had their first drop since November...

Forgotten Stocks Rip Higher: Earnings This Week

Forgotten Stocks Rip Higher: Earnings This Week

Several forgotten companies have rallied in the last week as investors continue to pore over quarterly results. Covergirl maker Coty (COTY) is up more than 50 percent in the last week after earnings and revenue beat estimates. That suggested the heavily shorted...

Banks Come Through: Earnings This Week

Banks Come Through: Earnings This Week

Earnings season began on a strong foot, thanks to financials and a handful of other key stocks. Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Citigroup (C) led the charge. Stronger banking activity was the big driver, also lifting smaller regionals like Comerica (CMA)...

Bulls Target Coca Cola and Silver Options

Bulls Target Coca Cola and Silver Options

What do a soft-drink giant and a precious metal fund have in common? They both have bullish options trades today, that's what. Let's start with Coca-Cola (KO). The soda maker is one of the few members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average with a gain so far this year or...

Here’s How Amazon Is Changing the Job Market

Here’s How Amazon Is Changing the Job Market

Regardless of how this week's big jobs report turns out, one thing seems certain: E-commerce is transforming big parts of the U.S. job market. Consider the dramatic rise of warehouse employment over traditional brick and mortar stores. Burrowing deep into October's...

Options Trader Braves Volatility in Media Giant

Options Trader Braves Volatility in Media Giant

Damn the volatility -- full speed ahead. That seemed to be the message from one big options trader in Comcast (CMCSA) yesterday: A block of 5,669 23-November 35 puts was bought in the middle of the afternoon for just $0.02. Volume was below open interest, which...

Volatility Spreads to Retail as Bears Multiply

Volatility Spreads to Retail as Bears Multiply

Extreme gloom is spreading from technology to retailers. Target (TGT), Lowe's (LOW), TJX (TJX), Kohl's (KSS) and L Brands (LB) are all dropping today. Some missed earnings, others missed on same-store sales. Regardless, investors refused to give any the benefit of the...

Are There Winners from the Selloff in Oil?

Are There Winners from the Selloff in Oil?

Oil just had its biggest drop in at least four years, and winners may be emerging. Airlines are one of the best-performing groups recently, according to TradeStation's uber-useful RadarScreen® app. They've risen 3 percent in the last week and 6 percent in the last...

Boring Stocks Rose Before the Midterms

Boring Stocks Rose Before the Midterms

After October's volatility, investors seemed to be playing it safe. Big and "boring" stocks are among the top performers in the last month.  Most of them are consumer facing rather than dynamic innovators. We're talking Gillette razors, big-box retail and Egg...