Newsletter for June 26, 2017
Weekly Report June 26, 2017 The Markets It has been a very good year, so far. Through the end of last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posted 24 record highs and delivered returns in the high single digits. The MSCI World ex USA Index was up more than 11 percent, and the […]
Newsletter for June 19, 2017
Weekly Report June 19, 2017 The Markets All eyes on inflation! Inflation is the way economists measure changes in the prices of goods and services. The United States has enjoyed relatively low inflation for a significant period of time. Last week, the consumer price index indicated inflation had moved lower in May. Inflation is our […]
Newsletter for June 12, 2017
Weekly Report June 12, 2017 The Markets Stock market historians may dub 2017 the Xanax year. Traditional historians will probably choose a different moniker. Stock markets in many advanced economies have been unusually calm during 2017, reported Schwab’s Jeffrey Kleintop in a May 15, 2017 commentary. The CBOE Volatility Index, a.k.a. the Fear Gauge, which […]
Newsletter for May 30, 2017
Weekly Report May 30, 2017 The Markets Is preparing for the future more important than enjoying the present? There is a lot to enjoy today. Last week, Financial Times wrote: “Wall Street ended an impressive week on a steady note – eking out a tiny gain to a fresh record close – as oil prices […]
Newsletter for May 22, 2017
Weekly Report May 22, 2017 The Markets How much is too much? There has been no shortage of drama since the new administration took office – legislative setbacks, controversial hiring and firing, and fiery tweets on various topics. Regardless, U.S. investors and markets remained stalwart until last week when the CBOE Volatility Index (a.k.a. the […]
Newsletter for May 15, 2017
Weekly Report May 15, 2017 The Markets Does performance tell the whole story? American stock markets have delivered some exceptional performance in recent years. Just look at the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) Index. Barron’s reported the S&P 500, including reinvested dividends, has returned 215 percent since April 30, 2009. The index is currently […]
Newsletter for May 8, 2017
Weekly Report May 8, 2017 The Markets Is it complacency? Exuberance? Uncertainty? Exhaustion? Insight? Intuition? Last week, all three major U.S. stock markets gained value and two reached new record highs. On the face of it, that’s great news for stock investors. However, if you look below the surface, the markets’ upward trend may have […]
Newsletter for May 1,2017
Weekly Report May 1, 2017 The Markets It was a good week to own stocks. Not all financial news was good news last week, but that didn’t prevent U.S. stock markets from moving higher. Barron’s reported on the good news: “This past week, welcome political news from Europe, a batch of stellar corporate-earnings reports, and […]
Newsletter for April 25, 2017
Weekly Report April 24, 2017 The Markets Last week, investors multi-tasked, pushing both U.S. bond and stock markets higher. In March, the Federal Reserve raised the Fed funds rates for the second time in three months. Typically, we would expect interest rates to rise and bond prices to fall, but interest rates have been falling […]
Newsletter for April 17, 2017
Weekly Report April 17, 2017 The Markets And the survey said… In late 2016, Natixis Global surveyed 500 institutional decision makers representing corporate pension plans, public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, foundations, and endowments. Survey participants said market volatility, geopolitics, and interest rates were their top risk concerns for 2017. So far, U.S. […]