Opening Statement from the March 2016 Dividend Gems

Opening Statement from the March 2016 Dividend Gems

Originally published on March 21, 2016 (pre-market release)

Subscribers should have received access to the 30-minute overview we published on Sunday afternoon, March 20, 2016. If you have not already reviewed this audio presentation, we advise you to do so as soon as possible.

Oil pricing continues to dominate stock market performance. The current rally in crude oil, having begun on February 12 is now in its sixth week. This rally in oil has helped push the stock market beyond where it should be based on our assessment of forward earnings estimates and ongoing global economic risks. Regardless, at least over the short-term the stock market is likely to head higher assuming oil continues to rally, all other variables held constant.

The other catalyst that has recently pushed the stock market towards questionable levels came from the Federal Reserve which met on Wednesday, March 17. While the Fed decided not to raise interest rates (in accordance with our forecast), the big news was that Fed chair Janet Yellen stated that 50 basis points would likely be the upper end of rate hikes for the entire 2016.