We’re only in the second month of the new year, but already we’ve seen many investors experience the tragic cost of market volatility. According to Lipper data, investors moved a staggering $190 billion into money market funds (cash) in Q4 2018. The last time investors fled risk assets in such large numbers was during the […]
Equity markets received some relief in late January, when the Federal Reserve decidedly shifted tone on interest rate increases for 2019. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that “the case for raising rates has weakened somewhat,”1 adding that the Fed is increasingly concerned about the effects of policy-related headwinds from trade disputes, Brexit, and the potential […]
Investor sentiment has made a notable shift over the last two years or so, and the pendulum swing may actually help explain why 2018 was such a disappointing year for stocks. Flashback to 2017 – the buzzword when describing the global economy was “synchronized global recovery,” referring to the widely-held expectation that all developed economies […]
The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates at the December 18-19 meeting last year was a source of contention for the equity markets. In fact, just about every rate increase last year (four total) was met with short-term volatility – a reckoning that the era of easy money was officially coming to a close. […]
The sharp and sudden selling pressure that characterized equity market action in December appears to have subsided in the new year – at least for now. In examining the causes of downside volatility, the most commonly cited reasons were fears of an escalated trade war with China, Fed tightening, and increasing chances of U.S. recession. […]
Apple, Inc. stunned Wall Street last week when the company issued a rare cut to its revenue forecast for the upcoming quarter – the first time it has slashed expectations in more than 15 years. Markets don’t like downward earnings revisions, and no exception was made for Apple. The stock fell some -10% in the […]
The S&P 500 appears to have stabilized slightly following the December rout that culminated with a day in bear market territory, on December 24th. [1] Though the depths of the selling pressure appear to be behind us for now, investors would be wise to stay mentally prepared for continued volatility in the weeks ahead. The […]
With every new day of equity market selling pressure, many investors are becoming increasingly concerned that maybe this is more than just a market correction. We’ve seen over $7 trillion wiped from global equity market cap from the peak in January, and as it appears today, we may encounter the rare outcome of having both […]
Investors are getting increasingly edgy and bearish as stock market volatility continues apace, which is actually having the opposite effect on me – it’s making me more bullish. In this week’s column I’ll explain why I feel that way, but first I’ll unpack some of the sentiment indicators ‘flashing pessimism.’ You can find evidence of […]
The S&P 500 has officially crossed over into correction territory[1], which is generally defined as a decline of -10% to -20% over a reasonably short period of time (few weeks to a few months). As I wrote last week, little has changed fundamentally over the past two weeks with regard to interest rate expectations, earnings […]
