Reitmeister 2017

[9/1/17] It is hard to believe that this is my last Profit from the Pros message. Yet after 16 years of being the head of Zacks.com it is time for a new adventure. Gladly that adventure continues with Zacks...just in a new and exciting capacity.

Zacks.com had just 20 employees back when I started. Now that is nearly 200.

The website traffic has grown 12 times over.

And our valuable ratings are now in the hands of many, many more investors who use it to improve their financial well-being. That is the most gratifying part of all.

I leave you in the very capable hands of Kevin Matras who will take over the helm of Zacks.com and the writing of Profit from the Pros on a daily basis. No doubt you already know Kevin from all of his expert investment commentaries over the years. Most popular of which are his keen market outlooks and Screen of the Week articles.

Please do yourself a favor and keep making Zacks a part of your daily investment diet. I have no doubt that it will help you achieve investment success for many years to come.

Best,

Steve Reitmeister

[8/9/17] The S&P made new highs Tuesday getting ever closer to 2500. Then right around noon investors got a case of high anxiety with stocks recoiling a bit, but still in profitable territory.

Just before the closing bell the real fireworks began. That came in the form of some tough talk from the White House that any North Korean aggression will be met with "Fire and Fury".

Since this is an investment publication, we will stay focused on what this means for the market. First, we are used to a lot of bluster from North Korea with no serious action taking place. So, this likely leads to nothing and investors ignore the situation.

Now let's imagine that military action does take place. North Korea is a paper tiger that is easily toppled. (Heck, if you gave me a month with nothing to do, I likely would have a more impressive military arsenal than they do and feed the people and keep the electricity running....but that is beside the point ;-) The reality is that the stock market likes war and typically rises after fighting commences. Some call it a patriotic response by investors.

To be clear, I don't like rooting for war as a catalyst for the stock market. There are plenty of other reasons to be bullish. I just want you to have the correct view of this situation. And that is to realize these issues with North Korea should not cause any continued downside to the market.
 
[5/10/17] Stocks flirted with their first real breakout above 2400 on Tuesday. Early in the session the S&P got as high as 2404 when investors got altitude sickness leading to a close just a notch below.

I truly believe we will soon break above 2400 touching 2450 or even 2500 before the next consolidation period. And as noted yesterday, it should be a Risk On rally with smaller and growthier companies leading the charge.

Sometimes you need a positive catalyst to create a breakout of this nature. However, other times the fundamental backdrop is solid and it is the lack of negative news that gives a green light for stock advances. I sense that will be the case this time around.