Elite Six Stocks were positive for the week as more Goldilocks economic data fueled investor optimism. Earlier in the week, the U.S. gross domestic product came at a 3.3% clip in last year's fourth quarter, much stronger than the expected 2% gain. On Friday, the...
Pick-up in Sentiment I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It's gonna be a bright (bright) Bright (bright) sunshiny day For the past 18 months, the dissonance of a healthy economy and...
Tepid Start Stocks edged higher for the week as tame inflation reports drove bond yields lower and restored investor confidence that the Fed would soon be cutting interest rates. The PPI fell 0.1% in December amid declining costs for goods such as diesel fuel and...
Market Hangover Investors seem to sober up following the nine-week-long stock market party that closed out 2023, as the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.2%, and the Russell 2000 sank 3.8% in holiday-shortened trading. Declining issues almost...
Conventional Wisdom Twas the week after Christmas and trading was light. Stocks traded higher with a record in sight. The Goldilocks economy overcame the doomsayers' fears. The Santa Claus rally kept rolling right into the New Year. The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, the...
A Recession That Never Was For most of 2023, the consensus amongst the talking heads of the market was that there was an impending recession and that interest rates would stay higher for longer to combat stubborn inflation. On the other hand, the economic data kept...
Clear Path to Cuts The foundation of the bear case for the economy and the financial markets during 2022 and 2023 was the “higher for longer” mantra from the Federal Reserve. In other words, the Fed’s tight monetary policy would lead to a deep recession before...
Healthy Equilibrium The data from the Labor Department further illuminated an economy on a path back to normal conditions, otherwise known as the soft-landing proposition. On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, showed that U.S. job...
Long and Winding The S&P 500 reached its highest level in more than a year on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that interest rates have peaked. “We’re getting what we wanted to get, we now have the ability to move carefully,” which...
Turbocharged The stock market provided additional reasons for investors to be thankful, as the rally continued for the fourth straight week. The S&P 500 tacked on 1%, the Nasdaq gained 0.9%, the Russell 2000 added 0.5%, and all the sectors except Oil & Gas...
Wild Ride We would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. At North Star, we are deeply thankful for our wonderful clients that we have the pleasure and honor of serving. We are also thankful for the potential return to the “not too hot and not too cold”...
Laundry List There has been a laundry list of factors that have heavily influenced the trends in the financial markets over the past few years. Topping that list would be the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain disruptions, closely followed by the increasingly...
North Star's Premise Proven Investors finally got a taste of money, tasting much sweeter than wine, as rising corporate earnings and declining interest rates gave the markets a kiss. The bond market benefitted from slightly soft employment data, particularly...
The blog post discusses the recent market correction, with the S&P 500 dropping 10% from its 52-week high, led by losses in various sectors. Despite strong earnings results, concerns arise regarding personal spending relying on savings, and the potential for accelerating earnings growth remains a bullish case for equities. Rising gold prices are attributed to geopolitical turmoil and an increase in U.S. Treasury debt offerings. The post anticipates a volatile week ahead with a focus on the Federal Reserve’s policy, employment data, and corporate earnings, all while acknowledging the ongoing impact of global geopolitical events on investor sentiment.
Margin Call Stocks staged a modest rally on Monday, only to see mounting losses Tuesday through Friday, adding up to the worst week in a month for the market. The S&P skidded 2.4%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.2%, and the Russell 2000 slid 2.3%, with declining...
Depressed Levels The market action was primarily driven by the horrific events in the Israel-Hamas war, with a mixed performance from stocks while investors sought safe-haven assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and gold. Defense and Energy sector shares rallied,...
Balanced Signals The concept of bistable perception, in which observers perceive the same information in two different ways, might help explain the current state of the financial markets as well as the political landscape. We will leave the unstable domestic politics...
A Dedication to Mickey Lefton “As my memory restsBut never forgets what I lostWake me up when September ends.” Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong penned those lyrics inspired by the grief he felt over the death of his father when he was a young boy....
Congrats Fed, You Are Winning Whereas we would prefer to be discussing the resilient economy, with full employment and supply chain disruptions finally alleviating, instead, once again, it was Chairman Powell and the Fed dominating the narrative. Spoiler alert:...
Bears Took Over Through Thursday’s close, the financial markets displayed solid resilience despite the looming threat of an autoworkers strike and a slightly hot producer price index (PPI) reading. Surging energy prices were responsible for a monthly rise of 0.7% in...
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