Economy & Markets
What the Looming Debt Ceiling Deadline Means for Investors
The federal debt limit is once again in the news as the country rapidly approaches a critical deadline on June 1. Investors are understandably nervous about Washington failing to reach an agreement. How can investors maintain the right perspective around political and fiscal uncertainty?
How the Failure of First Republic Impacts the Financial System
On the morning of May 1, it was announced that First Republic Bank had been taken over by the FDIC and sold to JPMorgan Chase. With ongoing banking turmoil creating market and economic uncertainty, how can long-term investors navigate the months ahead?
What This Earnings Season Reveals About the Economy and the Banking Crisis
The corporate earnings season for the first quarter is underway and about one-fifth of S&P 500 companies have reported results.
Why the U.S. Dollar is Still the Leading Global Currency
The U.S. dollar has been in the headlines due to an anticipated pause in Fed policy and concerns over the currency's place in the global financial system.
April Market Commentary: All's Well That Ends Well? Not So Fast...
Equity markets, using the S&P 500 index return as a proxy, at first glance appear to have shrugged off the mid-month drama of multiple domestic, regional bank failures and the forced sale of a massive Swiss bank.
March Madness: Non-Basketball Edition
The monthly Fed/CPI/Employment headline-market movement industrial complex was rudely shouldered aside in the last week by a much bigger and faster-moving story.
March Market Commentary: Why Aren't Rate Hikes Working?
If there’s an aphorism for February that you could embroider on a pillow, it would be, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Markets appear to have finally started taking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s warnings seriously and caught up to the rhetoric that the Fed has been consistently pushing out. Ra
February Market Commentary: Powell's Not Done
The market adage is “as January goes, so goes the year.” Is it true? According to an analysis by Fidelity, January returns are positive about 75% of the time the full year turns out positive.
Recession, Recovery, or Both?
The markets are starting to feel like Groundhog Day. Almost every month, it’s a cadence of employment numbers, CPI, Fed — market reacts.
January Market Commentary: The Fed Goes Meta
While the equity markets, as measured by the S&P 500 index, was up in the third quarter, December was a disappointment from the gains seen in October and November.
December Market Commentary: The Predictive Limits of Data
We’re on the home stretch of a year in which “unprecedented” doesn’t even begin to capture it. Nothing went according to plan, for anyone, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Fed’s domestic attempts to combat inflation.
November Market Commentary: Powell Threads the Needle?
Economic data showed some movements in the right directions, both up and down. The Federal Reserve responded by talking about letting the economy catch up to the rate increases already enacted. Does that mean that the path forward will be smoother and potentially skirt a recession?