blog
November 25, 2024
A Basket of Uncertainty Bolsters the Dollar

November 25, 2024: The dollar’s continued climb higher has been predicated on a host of factors — including the rise in geopolitical risk and the dollar’s safe haven status as inflows have picked up markedly, uncertainty with regard to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) int...

November 18, 2024
Trade, Tariffs, and Inflation

November 18, 2024: One of the biggest fears for investors right now is the resurgence of inflation from adverse effects of Trump’s potential trade policy. Also worth mentioning, general market uncertainty is building, thanks to an over-eager Federal Reserve (Fed) who did a...

November 11, 2024
Election Day Takeaways

November 11, 2024: The clouds of uncertainty parted last week as former President Donald Trump decisively won the U.S. election, making him the second U.S. president to win non-consecutive terms (Grover Cleveland was the first to do it back in 1892). Investors welcomed the n...

November 4, 2024
Election Stock Market Playbook

November 4, 2024: As Election Day approaches, we discuss potential stock market implications of various possible outcomes. But before we get into that, we offer our regular public service announcement around elections and investing. Political views are best expressed at the ...

October 21, 2024
Can Margins Defy Skeptics Again?

October 21, 2024: At the most basic level, earnings represent the combination of revenue and profit margins. With revenue generally more stable and easier to predict, it’s fair to say markets react more to margins during earnings season. With margins being such an importan...

October 14, 2024
Happy Second Birthday Bull Market – Here’s to a Third!

October 14, 2024: On October 12, 2022, there were very few comments suggesting that a new bull market was in the throes of being born as the S&P 500 opened at 3,590.83 and closed at 3,577.03. After all, inflation was still running hot even though the Federal Reserve (Fed) be...

October 7, 2024
Just When We Recalibrated, Another Shock Arrived

October 7, 2024: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last month’s decision to cut the fed funds target rate by a half percentage point was due to a “recalibrating” policy, as the Fed follows its dual mandate regarding inflation and growth....

September 30, 2024
Gold Rally is No Flash in the Pan

September 30, 2024: When it comes to investing, gold may be the antithesis of artificial intelligence (AI). The precious metal has acted as a store of value for thousands of years with zero technological innovation — gold is discovered, not developed. Gold is also a real t...

September 23, 2024
Policy Crosscurrents: Potential Market Impacts

September 23, 2024: Of course, last week’s headliner was Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve (Fed) cutting rates by a half percent on Wednesday, September 18, the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020. The Fed “pause” ended at 423 days and now stan...

September 16, 2024
Election Implications on the Municipal Market

September 16, 2024: With the first presidential debate behind us, it’s safe to say election season is in full swing. While last week’s debate was light on economic policies, the future of tax policy (along with potential efforts to arrest elevated federal deficits) could...

September 9, 2024
Second Quarter Earnings Recap: Good, Not Great

September 9, 2024: Second quarter earnings season is in the books, and it was a good one. S&P 500 companies collectively grew earnings at a double-digit pace for the first time in three years. Companies beat estimates at a solid 79% clip. Guidance from company CEOs and CFOs ...

September 3, 2024
Russia To Host BRICS Summit 2024 Amid Heightened Geopolitical Conflict

September 3, 2024: In December 2023, Vladimir Putin declared that the 2024 BRICS Summit, hosted by Russia, would be focused on establishing a “fair world order” based on shared principles. At the core of Putin’s goals for stronger BRICS economic integration is a longst...