We Are Reaching Peak Pessimism
By Kelvin Lee Created in 1940 by University of Michigan Professor George Katona, the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (MCSI) and the Michigan Inflation Expectations track a monthly survey of randomly sampled consumers on their current financial conditions and outlook on the economy. Since roughly 70% of Gross Domestic Product is derived from consumer spending, the […]
What a mess…!
By Kelvin Lee It was a hectic week on Wall Street…again! On Wednesday, the FOMC lifted interest rates by 75bps, the largest rate move since 1994 with Fed chair Jerome Powell noting that another 75-basis point hike would be on the table for the next policy meeting in July. Markets cratered on Thursday marking one […]
Up We Go
By Kelvin Lee The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will announce their decision to raise interest rates today at 2pm in Washington D.C. Today’s decision comes after the high CPI print last Friday indicating that consumer prices rose 8.6%, the highest in 40 years. The Fed walks a delicate tightrope in today’s meeting as its […]
The Rules are Changing…. Again
By Alonso Munoz Exciting news: The 401(k) and retirement industry is in line for another round of legislative updates! The most immediate proposal in Washington is the SECURE Act 2.0. This is a follow up to SECURE Act signed into law in 2019. Although this legislation is complex and lengthy, we have picked out several […]
Reason for Optimism?
By Alonso Munoz Alas, Q1 earnings season starts in earnest this week. Analysts expect encouraging numbers out of corporate America in the midst of soaring inflation and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. With so much “doom and gloom” being reported by financial media lately, we wanted to provide a few potential upside catalysts for markets […]
A Volatile Start to 2022
By M. Blake Fortune, II This week, investors will be monitoring further developments out of Ukraine. In recent weeks, market participants have been processing new Covid developments, inflation, soaring commodity prices, interest rates and geopolitics. Have you been to the pump lately? Making matters worse, the media is sensationalizing the conflict and market pressures are […]
Major Market Updates
By Alonso Munoz What’s News? Russia Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have given investors jitters in recent weeks. Vladimir Putin claims the Russian troop buildup on Ukraine’s border is in an effort to stop NATO’s eastward expansion. Diplomatic talks among EU nations, Ukraine and Russia have largely been stagnant. U.S. and other Western forces have […]
January 2022 in Review
By M. Blake Fortune, II To date, 2022 has sent investors on a rollercoaster ride. Equity markets were deep in the red for the month of January. Inflation, monetary policy and geopolitical tension drove the risk off sentiment. Below, we delve deeper into some of the prevailing January themes. It should come as no surprise […]
Inflation, Inflation, Inflation…
By M. Blake Fortune, II Lately, the financial media seems to only talk about one thing: inflation. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and, subsequently, fiscal, and monetary stimulus programs launched in an effort to stabilize the economy, investors have worried about long term consequences of the “easy money” policies. What is inflation, why […]
2021 Defining Moments
Defining moments in 2021: January In late January, the meme-stock saga began. AMC, GameStop, Blackberry, and stocks of companies that were nearly bankrupt, rallied on the backs of “amateur” day traders. As a result of the rapid price appreciation, hedge Funds and other institutional investors had to cover large short positions, driving up prices even […]
