The retail sector can return some amazing gains as we have witnessed since the recession ended—but it can also provide periods of anxiety.

How the retail sector performs is dependent on many variables, including the economy, jobs, housing, consumer confidence, ... Read More

This article My Favorite Pick in the Retail Sector Is Not What You’d Think originally published at Daily Gains Letter by George Leong.

Technically, the Federal Reserve’s job is to oversee the monetary policy (short-term interest rates) of the world’s biggest economy. Obviously, it does, but it’s also important to remember that its opinion and carefully chosen words also have a major impact ... Read More

This article Three Silver Plays That Can Weather a Short-Term Downturn originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

The U.S. economy is weak. Everyone knows it. We just don’t know where to lay the blame. Businesses on the S&P 500 have been using the weather as an economic scapegoat. And not a small number, either.

Between January 1 ... Read More

This article Why Consumers Have Been Increasing Spending in This Sector Since 1994 originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Another month of cold weather is being blamed for the most recent weak consumer confidence numbers. Consumer confidence levels for the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index fell from 81.6 in February to 79.9 in March—the lowest level in four ... Read More

This article How to Profit from the Two Things Consumers Can’t Do Without originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Thanks to a number of different factors, airline sector stocks have been on a tear. And thanks to an inverse relationship with the price of oil, strengthening consumer sentiment, the expected increase in business travel, and the (eventual) ... Read More

This article Three Airline Stocks I Think Are Ready to Rebound originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Normally, an anniversary is worth celebrating. But with the S&P 500 having recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of its bull market run, there are many economic reasons to question its longevity. Considering the economic data of the last five years, ... Read More

This article Three Stocks for Celebrating the Bull Market’s Fifth Anniversary originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Against a backdrop of record-highs for stocks, consumer confidence is waning—seeing its greatest drop in four months. The S&P 500 touched record intra-day territory earlier in the week, suggesting the bull market remains intact and the well-earned and (far too) ... Read More

This article Two Precious Metal Plays for Waning Consumer Confidence originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Consumer spending is highly correlated with consumer sentiment. It makes sense that when consumers believe their jobs are in trouble or they won’t have enough money going forward, they pull back on their spending and only buy what they need... Read More

This article Limit Losses, Boost Gains with These Staple ETFs originally published at Daily Gains Letter by Moe Zulfiqar.

While most astute investors would point to a weak U.S. economy as the reason for the recent lackluster U.S. employment data, economists, in their infinite wisdom, point to Mother Nature. She seems to shoulder a lot of the economic blame ... Read More

This article Where Investors Can Find Stability in These Economically Unstable Times originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.

Despite assurances from analysts, economists, and central bankers, the U.S. economy isn’t faring so well—and the markets are finally beginning to see what we’ve been warning about in these pages all last year.

For sustainable growth, the U.S. economy needs ... Read More

This article Why January Auto Sales Point to Bleak Future for U.S. Economy originally published at Daily Gains Letter by John Whitefoot.