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Newsletter for August 22, 2017
Weekly Report August 22, 2017 The Markets Here, there, and everywhere… Markets around the world appear to be benefitting from global economic recovery. After pointing out the United States’ economy is the heart of the global financial system, Barron’s reported: “The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has tirelessly amassed 30 record closes this year, but […]
Newsletter for August 14, 2017
Weekly Report August 14, 2017 The Markets North Korea may be a little country, but it can churn up big trouble. The possibility that verbal hostilities between the United States and North Korea could trigger geopolitical conflict had investors on the run last week. In the United States, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell […]
Newsletter for August 8, 2017
Weekly Report August 7, 2017 The Markets Who’s been buying shares of company stock? Since the start of the bull market in 2009, U.S. companies have been buying their own stock. Stock buybacks peaked during the first three quarters of 2016 and have dropped off sharply since then, reports Financial Times citing a report from […]
Newsletter for July 31, 2017
Weekly Report July 31, 2017 The Markets There was some good news and some bad news last week. First, the good news: Thanks to consumer spending and an upturn in federal government spending, the U.S. economy grew faster from April through June this year. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.6 percent during the period, […]
Newsletter for July 10, 2017
Weekly Report July 10, 2017 The Markets Things you may want to know… Last Friday, Financial Times (FT) published, ‘Five markets charts that matter for investors.’ Among the issues addressed in the charts were: The bond market bear watch. The yield on 10-year German Bunds (Germany’s government bonds) reached an 18-month high of 0.58 percent […]
Newsletter for July 3, 2017
Weekly Report July 3, 2017 The Markets This is the way the quarter ends – with a central bank scare. Central bankers are stodgy. They speak carefully. For many, reading the words ‘Federal Reserve’ is enough to cause boredom to set in and web surfing to ensue. Last week, though, the European Central Bank and […]
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 […]