U.S. 10-year Treasury yields have increased 34 basis points year-to-date and have remained above 4% since earlyFebruary. Yet over the same period, stocks have rallied 10%. At first glance, this dynamic may seem counterintuitive,because high and rising interest rates are typically associated with weaker equity market performance.… Read More
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act of 2019 upended the withdrawal and taxation rules for inherited individual retirement accounts for most non-spousal beneficiaries. Most dramatically, the Secure Act established a 10-year rule for withdrawing from inherited IRAs that eliminated the popular, but at times controversial, ability to “stretch” inherited IRAs for these beneficiaries.… Read More
After the U.S. economy’s impressive 4% annualized growth in the second half of 2023, investors are searching for cluesas to whether this strong momentum will persist into 2024. For much of this quarter, the closely watched Atlanta FedGDPNow model has forecasted growth of at or above 3%.… Read More
The U.S. economy has seen a significant normalization in labor demand since the pandemic. Last week’s JOLTSreport showed 8.9M job openings in January 2024, a 27% fall from the peak of 12.2M openings in March 2022. With theeconomy expected to soften further this year, labor demand in most sectors will continue to moderate.… Read More
The Federal Reserve has been in the headlines a lot lately as analysts try to figure out when policymakers will cut interest rates. Why does the Fed matter so much?Let’s discuss.(Not interested in a quick econ lesson? I’ve got you covered.… Read More
Curious how the 2024 election will affect the stock market?How are you feeling about this year’s elections?If the thought of it makes your heart beat faster––you’re not alone.Most United States residents across party lines experience major stress around presidential elections.1And recently, that stress has skyrocketed.In… Read More
Given high short-term yields, many investors seeking income have recently piled into cash. Others, however, havebeen attracted to high yield (HY) bonds, given yields of close to 8% in a falling inflation, steady growth environment. Download Full-Size PDF: Click Here weekly_market_recap-03-04-2024
Market expectations for Fed policy have swung dramatically over the past few months, from the higher-for-longer narrative to expectations of aggressive policy easing. With stronger-than-expected jobs and growth data this year and inflation still mild, investors have had to reassess their outlook for policy rates.… Read More
Last week’s January CPI report came in above expectations, with headline CPI rising 0.3% m/m and 3.1% y/y. Shelterprices, which increased 0.6% in January, accounted for over 2/3 of the monthly increase in headline CPI. Download Full-Size PDF: Click Here weekly_market_recap-02-19-2024
Market Rollercoaster The S&P 500 broke the 5,000 level recently for the first time in history as investors embraced euphoria and rallied.1 And then tumbled as investors got jittery.2 Then yo-yo’d a bit more. What’s going on? Let’s talk about investor psychology.… Read More