Newsletter for July 30, 2018
Weekly Report July 30, 2018 The Markets Is it a sugar rush or something more sustainable? Economic growth in the United States was strong during the second quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, grew by 4.1 percent. That’s the fastest growth in […]
Newsletter for July 23, 2018
Weekly Report July 23, 2018 The Markets Last week, there was some good news and some notable news. Here’s the good news: Corporate earnings have been strong. As of July 20, 17 percent of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index had reported second quarter results. More than 85 percent of those companies […]
Newsletter for July 16, 2018
Weekly Report July 16, 2018 The Markets Investors are becoming more discriminating. Trade tensions escalated as the U.S. administration expanded tariffs on Chinese goods last week. You wouldn’t have known by watching the performance of benchmark indices, though. Just four of the 25 national stock market indices tracked by Barron’s – Australia, Italy, Spain, and […]
Newsletter for July 9, 2018
Weekly Report July 9, 2018 The Markets What a rollercoaster of a quarter! When it comes to the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Sentiment Survey, respondents tend to be more bullish than bearish about U.S. stock markets. The survey’s historical averages are: 38.5 percent bullish 31.0 percent neutral 30.5 percent bearish As the second […]
Newsletter for July 2, 2018
Weekly Report July 2, 2018 The Markets There’s a bear in China – and it’s not a panda. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Composite Index, which reflects the performance of all shares that trade on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, dropped into bear market territory last week, reported CNBC. The Index has fallen more than 20 […]
Newsletter for June 25, 2018
Weekly Report June 25, 2018 The Markets What time is it? The yield curve may be the pocket watch of economic indicators. It’s been around for a long time and it’s often right, but not always. The yield curve is the difference between the interest paid on two-year government bonds and 10-year government bonds. In […]
Newsletter for June 11, 2018
Weekly Report June 11, 2018 The Markets G whiz! Never before could the Group of 7 (G7) Summit have been mistaken for reality TV. The generally dignified annual meeting of leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (along with the heads of the European Commission and European Council) […]
Newsletter for June 5, 2018
Weekly Report June 5, 2018 The Markets If the countries were instruments, last week sounded like a fifth grade garage band. World markets were buffeted by a clamor of good, bad, and unexpected news last week. Events that captured media and investor attention included: Taxing America’s allies. Early in the week, investors weren’t the only […]
Newsletter for May 29, 2018
Weekly Report May 29, 2018 The Markets Geopolitical uncertainty didn’t dent U.S. stocks last week. Geopolitics is the intersection of geography, economics, and politics. Last week, there were some fine examples of the ways geopolitical events can create uncertainty. Barron’s reported: “President Donald Trump began the week suggesting that a trade war with China was […]
Newsletter for May 21, 2018
Weekly Report May 21, 2018 The Markets Too much? Too little? Or just right? U.S. stock markets were relatively calm, although they finished the week lower. U.S. Treasury yields hit a 7-year high and finished the week above 3 percent. While these were notable, the most remarkable events last week occurred beyond our borders. These […]