The Traderszone Network

Before Satya Nadella took over as CEO, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had become a slowly dying relic trapped in the past.

The company was not in any danger of going out of business, but it was no longer an innovator. Windows still powered most computers, but rivals including Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) had taken over the tablet and smartphone spaces with iOS and Android respectively.

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Home Depot (NYSE: HD) has proven to be a retail chain that’s immune to internet disruption. Most likely, that’s partly due to the fact that many of the items it sells consumers actually want to see or touch, and partly because of the size of many building materials.

Shares, as you can see on the chart below, have almost doubled over the last three years. There’s no reason to expect that steady growth to change anytime soon, but I still have no interest in owning any shares.

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When it seems like everyone and their neighbor are turning to growth stocks as an almost-surefire way to generate strong returns, smart investors know to take caution and look for ways to mitigate their risk profiles. That’s not to say that today’s bull market is necessarily teetering on the verge of turning bear, but with major indexes at record highs, it’s a good time to diversify toward stocks that have what it takes to help weather a potential downturn.  

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Many investors see private equity investments as a gateway to the most lucrative opportunities in the financial markets. The professionals who run private equity companies raise substantial amounts of capital from investors, sometimes use the money as collateral to borrow more capital, and then go out to buy companies that are particularly attractive.

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The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI) have done exceedingly well so far this year, and the third quarter was another strong period for the average. The Dow finished the quarter within 8 points of its all-time high, picking up more than 1,050 points and posting a gain of nearly 5%. The price-weighted average particularly benefits when its higher-priced stocks do well, and that was definitely the case with some of its best-performing components during the summer months.

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By Mark Rzepczynski of the Disciplined Systematic Global Macro Views blog

Corporate spreads are tight and there is little room for further reduction given the absolute level of spreads.

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Storm strengthens to a hurricane overnight — though not as powerful as Harvey or Irma — and heads for New Orleans, as President Trump approves federal disaster relief for Louisiana.
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