Steven A. Markowitz's Blog

Stock volatility is one “force” tracked by serious investors through the VIX.  Historically, low volatility indicates investor complacency, i.e. lack of concern for downside of equity valuations.  Low volatility has often foreshadowed a market downturn.

A VIX number below 10 indicates low volatility in historical terms, a rare event.  In fact, it is been reported that in the last 28 years there has only been 11 days when the VIX was below 10.  However, two of those days occurred this week, as...

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Since the early 1960s liberals have promoted the narrative that people on the Left are more compassionate than those on the Right. This proposition was based on a motion, not empirical evidence. It emotionally seems right that the government should give to those in need. Conversely, those who would withhold government’s largess from the less fortunate lack compassion.

While a governmental safety net has been a part of American society since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Administration, it adv...

Since at least the 1960s, Socialism and its younger sibling, Communism, have been the darlings of Leftists elitists, especially those on college campuses. When these Progressives see perceived inequities in capitalist countries, they often look to utopian solutions with Socialism being a primary fallback. The amount of time that this neo-religion has been promoted is remarkable given the failure of Socialism to create prosperity for countries and their citizens.

With the recent passing of Fid...

The news media and Americans are focused on the upcoming presidential election. Given the important role the president plays in the United States this is natural. However, the focus on the election has been on the questionable personal traits of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This myopic focus masks serious issues that face the Country and the next president, irrespective of who is elected.

The significant challenges the Country faces include international relations, as well as economic is...

The greatest economic calamity of contemporary time occurred in 2008. While there were complex issues behind the economic meltdown, main culprit was an overvalued housing market that became a bubble. When housing valuations began to fall, the bubble popped, the catalyst for the overall economic meltdown.

The housing bubble did not occur by chance or natural economic activity. The fuel that fed this fire included:

Republicans and Democrats attempt to differentiate themselves via their views of the government’s role in the economy. With close examination, it is hard to find real differences between them.

Those on the Right promote the benefits of “true” capitalism that allows markets to set prices via supply and demand. Those on the Left share the view that capitalism is too harsh and that the government needs to step in and smooth out inequities created by markets. At the extreme Left, socialism is pro...

The weeks leading up to Britain’s vote on whether to remain in European Union included cataclysmic claims by economic “experts” as to what would happen to the world economy should Britain choose to leave the EU. In the few days after the vote to leave, the US equity markets and others dropped. However, within days the US market came roaring back and has since hit record highs.

Did the economic experts get it wrong? Did they purposely mislead? The answer is possibly both. Equities’ valuations...

The political elites and many in the economic community warned of dire consequences should Britain vote to leave the European Union. Immediately following the announcement of the vote equity markets worldwide drop significantly. However, one week later they have rebounded and are about back to where they started.

The action of the equities markets suggest either the predicted dire consequences were severely exaggerated, or as an alternative, equity markets with the assistance of continuous ce...

Yesterday the United Kingdom held its referendum as to whether it would stay or exit the European Union. The vote is in and the British decided to leave the EU.

Today, markets throughout the world have experienced turmoil, seemingly surprised by Brits’ decision. This reaction is curious given that the various indicators, except the polls, pointed towards a British exit.

The British electorate’s decision to leave the EU is part of a broader worldwide phenomenon. Governments and bureaucracies i...

The April jobs report has been released by the US Department of Labor and it is not pretty. According to CCNMoney, a mere 38,000 jobs were created in the US, the lowest monthly rate in six years. To put this into perspective, in the past two years the monthly increased averaged about 200,000 new jobs and the number required just to keep up with new entrants into the job market is in excess of 200,000 monthly.

Commenting on the job’s number, Curt Long, chief economist at the National Associati...