SMIF Interview
What is the Dow at currently?
18,000
What is the S&P 500 at currently? What did it fall to in 2008 mortgage crisis?
2,090
What measure is used as a predictor of stock market Volatility? (Give acronym and full name) Is the stock market considered to be stable or highly volatile right now? How has the market volatility been so far this year? What was it at the height of the mortgage crisis in 2008?
- CBOE Volatility Index (VIX Index) (Note: CBOE stands for Chicago Board Options Exchange) - stable - At the start of the year markets were relatively volatile (VIX at 30) but now have stabilized (Vix at 14) - 80 (More specifically, the VIX Index is intended to provide an instantaneous measure of how much the market thinks the S&P 500 Index will fluctuate in the 30 days)
Housing sector? Hows it dong? Why? Give some stocks that might benefit?
- Doing well - Borrowing cost remains low for homeowners. - a) Lennar (Large homebuilder) b) Sherwin Willams (Paint) c) Home Depot -
Energy Sector? Hows it dong? Why? Give some stocks that might benefit?
- Last 2 Years very poorly but doing well the first quarter of this year. - See chart showing crude oil plummeting past two years but recovering in first quarter which means energy stocks will recover with it. 2 Types of Companies 1) Oil & Gas - Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP 2) Energy Equip & Services - Schlumberger Ltd (Worlds Largest oil drilling service provider)
Who makes a Quarterly Earnings Report? What is reported? Why does this impact stock prices?
- Public companies to report their performance - Net income, earnings per share, earnings from continuing operations and net sales - Really depends on expectations! Financial analyst make predictions about companies earnings. If the results are better than the average predictions of the analyst then Stock goes up!
Bull Market
A period of increased stock trading and rising stock prices
Bear Market
A steady drop in the stock market over a period of time
Are we in a Bull or Bear Market
Bull (Stocks have steadily risen since 2008)
Name Sector that are performing poorly?
Energy Financials
Name Sectors that are performing well?
Housing => Telecom => investors have flocked to the relative stability of this sector, along with its above-market-average dividend yields. (10% earnings growth last 12 months) Technology =>
