Short Ideas

The health care sector and the related exchange traded funds have been mired in political controversy this year and that is particularly true of health care services providers. What Happened As has been widely noted, Dow component UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and the iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers...

The energy patch has been punished this month, particularly the volatile exploration and production stocks. Just look at the widely followed S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index (SPSIOPTR), which is lower by more than 12% month-to-date. What Happened Last Friday...

At a time when many investors are assessing the international exposure of their equity holdings, it pays to evaluate that issue from the sector level. As has been noted, some defensive sectors generate the bulk of or close to all their revenue on a domestic basis. What Happened Last year, the S...

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) called a report published by Bernie Madoff whistleblower about allegations of financial struggles "entirely false and misleading." What Happened Harry Markopolos, a financial fraud investigator and forensic accountant best known for presenting evidence...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down more than 400 points on Wednesday after the bond market gave investors a very historically reliable bearish signal. For the first time since 2007, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell below the yield on 2-year Treasury notes on Wednesday morning....

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF), the largest exchange-traded fund tracking stocks in the S&P 500's third-largest sector, lost 1.56% last week. With interest rates declining, some market observers are forecasting more weakness for bank stocks. What Happened While second-...

It's not Christmas in August, but some trends in the retail space could be setting up nicely for an impressive holiday season for the ProShares Decline of the Retail Store ETF (NYSE: EMTY). What Happened Of course, since EMTY is an inverse exchange traded fund designed to profit from weakness...

Plenty of health care exchange traded funds can be dubbed disappointing this year. The iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (NYSE: IHF) is one fund that belongs in that group. What Happened While IHF's year-to-date gain of 5.88% is tepid at best, the fund's lethargy is not its fault....

Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC) traded to its lowest levels ever on Thursday and two market pros are in no hurry to buy the stock. Market Technician's Take Kraft Heinz's stock chart since August 2016 shows a pattern of establishing a "series of lower lows and lower highs," Piper...

Valaris (NYSE: VAL) traded lower by 7.6% on Wednesday as oil prices tumbled to new seven-month lows. Despite the sell-off, some unusually large Valaris option trades on Wednesday suggest at least one trader with deep pockets is betting on more weakness ahead. The Trades On Wednesday morning,...

The technology sector once again finds itself at the center of US/China trade tensions. While no corner of the export-heavy sector is likely to be spared as long as the world's two largest economies are not making nice on trade, semiconductor stocks and exchange-traded funds are increasingly...

Cannabis stocks bounced back on Friday, trading higher in sympathy with a big earnings beat and 35% gain from Aphria Inc (NYSE: APHA). After a hot start to the year, most cannabis stocks limped into second-quarter earnings season on an extended losing streak, and financial analytics firm S3...

As has been widely discussed, small-cap stocks and exchange-traded funds are trailing their large-cap rivals. Over the past 90 days, the small-cap Russell 2000 Index is lower by 1.7% while the large-cap S&P 500 is higher by 1.8%. What Happened Historically, small-cap underperformance is seen as...