Market jitters show how much fed medicine matters

Make that four weeks in a row of gains for the U.S. stock market, as the rally has become undeniable. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both climbed more than 3% last week, with the the Dow up 2.9%. The S&P 500 has now climbed 15% from its lows in mid-June, while the Nasdaq has clawed back 20% since then. That could technically be described as a new bull market for the index. A 20% retracement from a recent low fits the bill—or the bull—but there are a lot of opinions about that. But we can't deny the strength of the rally, especially when we dig into the charts. The average stock in the Nasdaq Composite index is up 34% from its lows. Remember, just a few months ago, we were talking about the average Nasdaq stock being down 50% from its highs. The pendulum has swung back in a big way. Across the market, the breadth thrust has been pretty impressive. And no, that's not a swimming stroke. The breath trust indicator is a technical indicator used to ascertain market momentum … [Read more...] about Going Back to School with Stock Market Fundamentals

- A + A (Aug 18): The UK government is holding talks with senior finance executives to find ways to stimulate demand for listings, the latest initiative that aims to boost the City of London after Brexit. Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Treasury officials are holding a series of informal discussions with senior bankers and other executives in the City to find new ways to stimulate investor demand in a bid to help attract more listings to London, boosting its competitiveness with New York, people familiar with the discussions said. Ideas that are under consideration include setting up a dedicated fund that would invest in equity offerings and incentivising institutional as well as retail investors to participate in share sales, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. Risk-averse fund managers are seen as a particular hurdle to a thriving equity capital market in London, one of the people said. … [Read more...] about Treasury taps City of London again in latest push to buoy IPOs

Professional online communities have been gaining traction since LinkedIn launched in 2003. With Covid-19 giving these platforms an even greater role in how we network, do business, and interact with our colleagues, many organizations that hadn't considered the benefits of online communities before 2020 are jumping on the bandwagon. Creating a thriving, online professional community doesn't happen overnight. If your brand or organization is considering starting one, here are a few guidelines to follow. Do your user research first. No online community will do well if it doesn't give your users what they want. What's most important to them? Ongoing education? Networking? Translating online interactions into real-world work relationships? Some good ways to find out are to conduct surveys with your existing user base, host polls on your website, and post questions via your social media channels. Give your current members free or discounted access. If you … [Read more...] about 5 Guidelines for Building an Online Community