MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Home About Archives RSS Feed
@theMarket: The Faint of Heart
By Bill Schmick,
03:26PM / Monday, March 31, 2014

It has been at best a bumpy ride for stocks this week. While events in Crimea are partially responsible, there are some underlying factors just below the surface that may have more to do with recent performance than would meet the eye.

Breadth, the number of advancing stocks versus decliners, is one variable that seems to be flashing amber to red. Most market analysts take a faltering breadth ratio as an early warning signal. Then there’s momentum. Momentum is positive when existing trends in the markets continue or accelerate. Recently, that has changed.

Take the biotech sector for example. For most of the year this sector was a darling that at its peak was up over 20

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: Do Women Have a Choice?
By Bill Schmick,
03:05PM / Friday, March 28, 2014

Income inequality between the sexes in this country has always been a problem and it does not appear to be getting any better. Critics argue that much of the blame lies in the choices many women make in pursuing their education and career goals. I beg to differ.

In my last column on the subject two weeks ago, I observed that the pay differential between men and women had finally caught the attention of national politics. The National Budget Office, for example, pointed out the biggest beneficiary of a minimum-wage increase would be women.  It is true but the real core of this issue lies elsewhere.

As most readers are aware, American society has changed. As a result of the

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: What's Wrong With This Flight Plan?
By Bill Schmick,
10:14AM / Friday, March 21, 2014

The next time you board a regional airplane remember this. The co-pilots responsible for your safety are making the minimum wage. That means they are earning about as much as the guy hauling trashcans outside your local supermarket or flipping fast-food burgers and working a heck of a lot longer hours as well.

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has mystified the world. It has also brought the issue of flight safety on the front-burner again. The investigation has now centered on the possibility that someone on the flight crew tampered with or re-directed the flight path of the plane carrying 227 passengers. To me, it simply drives home the point that whether you are

0 Comments
Read More >>

@theMarket: Hanging In There
By Bill Schmick,
06:17PM / Friday, March 14, 2014

Russia's attempted annexation of the Ukraine, China's internal economic woes, the less than auspicious enrollment numbers in Obama's health care initiative are just a few of the difficulties that the stock market has had to overcome this week. Given the news, stocks are hanging in there.

There's hardly a day goes by that someone, somewhere isn't calling a top to this market. The bears are doing their utmost to get a good old-fashioned rout going but investors by and large are ignoring their overtures. On down days, the volume dries up because most investors resist the temptation to sell. Only day traders appear willing to sell the market and even they are right

0 Comments
Read More >>

The Independent Investor: Income Inequality Among Women
By Bill Schmick,
06:37PM / Thursday, March 13, 2014

— President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address

This week the president met with women members of congress to discuss income inequality among the sexes. At the same time, the Democratic Party is making the passage of a minimum wage bill part of its campaign strategy for mid-tem elections this year. It appears that how much a woman makes in this country has suddenly become important.

It's about time. This has been a pet peeve of mine for years. Some longtime readers may recall my first four-part series on this subject back in 2009-2010. At least once a year since then, I have tried to keep the inequity between the salaries of men and women on your front

0 Comments
Read More >>

Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384 F.413-663-3615
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved