Volatility persists in the global stock market, but the media narratives haven’t changed much – it’s still, “fears of global slowdown, rising interest rates, flattening yield curve, and trade war with China” being most commonly cited as drivers of the selling pressure. These factors are driving uncertainty, but I’m still not convinced they are powerful […]
It’s been a “nowhere to hide” situation for investors over the last several weeks. If we look at the performance of 70 different types of asset classes from gold to bonds to oil to stocks, about 90% of them are down for the year through mid-November (negative total return in dollar terms). The last time […]
Technology stocks have felt a bigger impact from the recent downside volatility than the broad market (S&P 500). In the last three months through Wednesday (11/21), the S&P had declined -3.21% while the Nasdaq had fallen nearly twice that, at -6.9%.[1] These relative declines have investors worried that tech stocks are too overvalued, and that […]
It comes as a great relief to many – including the markets – that the midterm elections are almost over. I say ‘almost over’ because there are still key races in states like Florida and Georgia being contested, and there are still a few House races yet to be called. Whatever happens with those races […]
The signs are everywhere – inflation is on the move. The economy has been humming on the heels of the tax cut, labor markets are tight, and the consumer remains optimistic. I think these factors, combined with pricing pressures from wages and tariffs, are all contributing to the firming inflation we’ve been seeing – and […]
Recent remarks by President Trump make one thing clear: he is not a fan of higher interest rates. In an impromptu press conference after walking off Air Force One on October 10th, the president remarked that the “Fed has gone crazy,” adding that he believed it was a mistake to tighten monetary policy, i.e., to […]
When the U.S. and global equity markets took a steep dive in the week of October 8, the headlines were a chorus of replayed fears: Interest rates are moving higher too fast! The Fed is in danger of making a major policy error! Technology valuations are too high! Global trade is in trouble! We’ve heard […]
The S&P 500 and global markets took a steep drop significantly this week, declining -3.26% and -2.41% (ACWX), respectively on Wednesday alone. Stocks were led down by the technology giants, with the Nasdaq falling an even further -4.08%.[1] Many clients and readers are concerned, understandably, but I want to put those concerns to rest. The […]
The S&P 500 notched a stout +7.2% gain in the third quarter, in spite of bubbling trade disputes, rising interest rates, and concerns about currency and debt in the Emerging Markets. Q3 marked the S&P 500’s best quarterly performance in nearly five years (Q4 2013).[1] In my view, the bullish outlook for stocks – and […]
