AboutVahan Janjigian, Ph.D., CFA, Author at Affluent Christian Investor
Yellen’s Testimony Suggests Rates Will Rise This Year
In her recent testimony to the Senate and House, Janet Yellen ruled out an interest rate increase in the immediate future. However, she hinted that a rate increase would occur this year. This was largely in line with the thinking … Read More
Government Should Thank Apple
Just a few years ago, Tim Cook and other Apple executives were dragged into Congress to explain why they were minimizing taxes. Huh? Isn’t that what all companies should do? Apple wasn’t doing anything illegal. It was legally dodging corporate … Read More
Lower Energy Prices Could Be Inflationary
I read a short article Friday morning about when the Federal Reserve might increase interest rates. One money manager interviewed argued that the drop in oil prices means that the Fed will raise rates later than initially thought. This argument is … Read More
Would You Quit Your Job?
“Take this job and shove it. I ain’t working here no more.” These are the lyrics of an old country song sung by Johnny Paycheck. That was his stage name. Maybe he should have called himself Johnny No-Paycheck. After … Read More
Yet Another Misleading Jobs Report
Friday morning we got yet another employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that looks great on the surface, but not so good deep down in the data. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 252,000 and the unemployment rate fell to … Read More
Once Again, the Fed Drives Stocks Higher
What a difference a week makes. Friday before last, gloom and doom ruled the markets. The S&P 500 had plunged 3.5% in just one week. Investors were dumping stocks apparently because they had somehow become convinced that low oil prices … Read More
Establishment Survey Stronger Than Household Survey
Friday’s Employment Situation report, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gave the market a lift in the morning; but stocks gave back some of the gains by the end of the trading day. The headlines, which the media focused … Read More
Once Again Stocks Rally in Response to Central Banks
I woke up Friday morning to news that stock futures were way up. I didn’t know why, but I was willing to bet it had nothing to do with President Obama’s speech on immigration. Sure enough, it turns out that once … Read More
Recession in Japan; QE in Europe
Futures in the U.S. markets were way down earlier this week when it was learned that Japan was in a tax-induced economic recession. Thanks to a new consumption tax, GDP fell 1.6% during the third quarter. Why this comes as … Read More
Decline In Unemployment Rate Belies The Real Story
There was a lot of excitement Friday about the latest Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The headline news was that the unemployment rate for October fell to 5.8%, its lowest level since July 2008. Even the broader … Read More
Long-Term Investors Have Been Waiting For This Sell-Off
Ebola, ISIS, Europe, China, Russia, retail sales, manufacturing. Take your pick. Wednesday’s sell-off in the market is being blamed on all of them. But it doesn’t really matter what you blame it on. The bottom line is that the sell-off … Read More
GoPro: Not a Pretty Picture for Shorts
Some stocks go up and some stocks go down. But some stocks go up no matter what–even when the market takes a big plunge. Take GoPro, Inc. (GPRO), the maker of wearable cameras. The company’s various products are … Read More
Decline In Participation Belies Strong Jobs Report
The Employment Situation report for the month of September looks great on the surface. The unemployment rate plunged to 5.9% from 6.1% in August; nonfarm payrolls climbed by 248,000, well ahead of the consensus expectation; … Read More
Treasury’s New Rules Ensure That Foreign Profits Remain Foreign
President Obama recently implied that American corporations executing tax inversions were unpatriotic. Just yesterday, the Treasury Department announced new rules that would make it more difficult for American companies to invert. These rules have prompted a sell-off in several key … Read More
The Fed Is More Hawkish Than It Seems
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) finished its two-day meeting and released its statement. Going into this meeting, the big debate among economists had to do with the wording of the statement. Specifically, they wondered if the Fed would remove … Read More
How To Make Money From A Weaker Euro Using ETFs
The U.S. economy has been growing at an anemic rate; yet compared to Europe, it is doing great. If they are not there already, many economies in Europe are on the brink of recession. In fact, the largest euro-zone economies, … Read More
Buffett’s Hypocrisy on Taxes Comes Through Again
The Burger King/Tim Hortons merger is big news largely because it comes soon after President Obama chastised American companies for trying to perform so-called tax inversions. Obama and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew strongly implied that tax inversions were not economically … Read More
The Recent Rise in Volatility Could Be Lasting
It’s been an exciting three weeks in the stock market. Prior to Friday’s rally, the major averages were down about 4% from their mid-July highs. At the same time, the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) surged 51%. I’ve written at … Read More
Success = f(EFFORT, ability)
Track is my favorite sport. My earliest memories go back to the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City where Bob Beamon soared almost two feet beyond the existing world record in the long jump; and Jim Ryun, arguably the … Read More
Military Spending Boosts Third Quarter GDP
The advance estimate for third quarter GDP growth came in at a better-than-expected 2.0%. This was up from 1.3% growth in the second quarter and, on the surface, it looks like good news. With the election just days away, the … Read More
Obama Wins, Stock Futures Turn Red
The elections are over. President Obama gets another four years in the White House. This means Ben Bernanke remains at the Fed. Tim Geithner will remain at Treasury if Obama insists, but Geithner has made clear his preference to step … Read More
Fiscal Cliff Fears Founder the Market
The post-election sell-off is becoming a serious concern. The S&P 500 is down 3.6% in just the two days following the election. This is a clear indication that investors are not happy with the election results. President Obama remains in … Read More
Immigration, One Reason Why Romney Lost
The election is over and the analysts are trying to explain the results. Of course, there are many reasons why Barack Obama won and Mitt Romney lost. Yet one thing is clear. The Democrats did an excellent job of defining the … Read More
Stop Posturing and Cut a Deal Now!
It is difficult to point this out without sounding partisan, but U.S. stocks have been sinking ever since Election Day. The selling has been across the board. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index are both down … Read More