China slowdown. The headline that China, the world’s second largest economy, is slowing down may initially create some heartburn for investors. A deeper dive shows that there may be some silver linings derived from the weakness. A few reasons why: (1) The U.S. economy does not seem to have significant exposure to the Chinese markets Read More

Corporate Earnings. Q2 corporate earnings have begun to come out in earnest. While expectations have been lowered heading in, it seems that the markets are already looking to the future rather than worrying about this earnings crop. Remember that the markets are a forecasting mechanism, focusing more on the future than the present or past. Read More

Economic strength and consumer resilience. The latest economic data is continuing to underscore the strength of the U.S. economy, which may come as a surprise to many naysayers. Plenty of folks in the media have been talking about why it is too good to last, with the next economic doom fast approaching. Commentators and prognosticators are stymied by the Read More

AI and uneven market returns. There is no denying that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have marched higher in the first half of the year. The numbers might be a bit misleading when it comes to investors’ actual experiences however, as there are a very small batch of companies that are dragging the market higher. As reported Read More

Economic/market tug of war. The past six months have shown to be frustrating for lasting market returns. The S&P 500 seems to be marking time, range bound between 3700 on the low end and 4200 on the high end. Recent lows have been higher than previous ones and recent highs have likewise been higher – an Read More

Banks, banks, banks. It has been quite a month, with fears over bank failures and potential systemic issues upsetting both fixed income and equity markets. We do not believe the problems plaguing banks will persist. The longer we go without another bank failure or deepening fears, the quicker this issue will resolve. The fear of a Read More

What’s going on? The markets are tumbling, and fear has begun to seep into most every corner of the investor mindset. “What if…” is the prevailing question as markets move aggressively in response to the recent Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses over the last week. “What if this spreads to other banks? What if this means Read More

Inflation battle. No one said it would be a smooth ride to reach the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2%. Elevated inflation numbers keep a tight hold on the markets, and the American consumer continues to spend. Slowing inflation from 7+% was the easy part. The low hanging fruit in the Fed’s inflation battle has already been harvested, Read More

Big earnings week. 4th quarter earnings are shaping up to be weaker than expected. This week is a big one as many of the mega cap names are scheduled to report. The underlying concern? If earnings continue to weaken with U.S. equity markets at already elevated valuations, it might lead to additional weakness in stock Read More