Mid-term Election Jitters
Investors will recall that 2017 was a year characterized by an extreme lack of volatility in the stock market relative to historical norms. Coming into the current year, we said that investors should expect a pickup in volatility, and that the markets were overdue for a correction. Moreover, mid-term election years have historically exhibited greater […]
The Financial Crisis: Then and Now
Today, we can look back and glean important insights from the financial crisis that began with the U.S. housing market and culminated with a full-blown global credit crunch that affected many countries around the world. This crisis, known as the Great Recession, is the worst recession in the United States since the Great Depression. The […]
What U.S. Blues?
What is U.S. Blues? The U.S. economy continues to show exceptional strength and resilience in the face of myriad negative headlines, as well as slowdowns in several parts of Europe and Asia. As the chart below shows, U.S. GDP growth bottomed in Q2 2016 and has risen sequentially in every quarter since. This trend is […]
Of Tariffs and Trade Wars
When economists studied the Great Depression after the 1930s, one of the things that was cited as worsening the economic decline and prolonging the recession was the Smoot-Hawley tariffs. This protectionist trade policy was signed into law in 1930 and raised the tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to the U.S. Despite nearly 90 years […]
Should Investors Brace For More Volatility?
The last year (2017) in the stock market will go down as one of the least volatile years on record. The largest pullback in stocks during the year was a scant -3%. Experienced investors know that historically the stock market has experienced yearly pullbacks in the neighborhood of double-digits. That made last year’s action in […]
Should Investors Brace For More Volatility?
The last year (2017) in the stock market will go down as one of the least volatile years on record. The largest pullback in stocks during the year was a scant -3%. Experienced investors know that historically the stock market has experienced yearly pullbacks in the neighborhood of double-digits. That made last year’s action in […]
Equifax Data Breach Update
Earlier this month, Equifax disclosed that as many as 143 million people were affected by a data breach that occurred from mid-May through July. The hackers were able to access people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, and dispute documents containing personal identifying information. Below is the link […]
Are We Back In A Goldilocks Environment?
The stock market continued its stair-step higher in Q2 amid slow but steady economic growth, decreasing inflation pressures, and low volatility on both the interest rate-front as well as equities. GDP growth started off this year on a lackluster note, but growth picked up in Q2 and is estimated to be stronger again in Q3. […]
President Trump’s Tax Plan Unveiled
President Donald Trump and his administration have released their proposed tax plan. The plan, which was released earlier this year on April 26th, was announced by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and states the following four goals: 1. Grow the economy and create millions of jobs2. Simplify the burdensome […]
Climbing The Proverbial ‘Wall of Worry’
Stocks got off to a strong start in Q1 2017, despite the myriad of calls that the market was overvalued and stocks were overdue for a big correction. Despite all of the negative headlines in the media, worries over geopolitical events, delays in Washington, etc., stocks have experienced less than a 3% pullback so far […]