Last Week The seesaw action on Wall Street continued, with stocks snapping a two-week losing streak. President Trump’s tariff talk continued to dominate the news flow. The basic storyline reads that stocks drop when tariffs are announced and then recover when those...
Last Week There must be some kind of way outta here Said the joker to the thief There’s too much confusion I can’t get no relief All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix/Bob Dylan “There’s too much confusion,” the portfolio manager told the trading desk. I can’t get...
Most economists agree that excessive tariffs are harmful to the economy. As we learned in the classic 1986 movie *Ferris Bueller’s Day Off*, Ben Stein’s character famously explains: ‘In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives… passed the… Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?… raised tariffs… Did it work? Anyone?… It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression.’
Last Week To tariff or not to tariff, that is the question. Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of an outrageous trade deficit, or rather risk triggering a rise in inflation? Meet the new boss, the same as the old boss. Donald Trump took office in...
Last Week What a difference a week makes. One could simply reverse the narrative from last week’s commentary, “Rate Concerns Rising,” as tame inflation data led to a downtick in rates and the best weekly performance by stocks since the post-election rally in November...
Last Week Stocks sank during the holiday-shortened week as solid economic data reignited concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep monetary policy tight in early 2025. In fact, several central bank policymakers hinted that the rate easing cycle might be on hold,...
Last Week The New Year got off to a sluggish start as uncertainty over the economic effects of the incoming administration’s policies and concerns about the recent hawkish monetary policy tilt weighed on sentiment. December proved to be an anticlimactic finish to a...
Last Week The stock market was volatile during holiday-shortened trading, with light volume as many on Wall Street opted to take an extended holiday. There were hopeful signs of a Santa Claus Rally early in the week, as stocks posted their best Christmas Eve session...
Last Week The good news for value investors is that on Friday the IVE (iShares S&P 500 Value ETF) snapped its 14-day losing streak. During that stretch, the Index lost more than 8%, which almost qualifies as a correction. The Small Cap Value Index has fared about...
Last Week If you asked somebody how the weather was that day, the answer would depend on several factors, with their location being the most important variable. The same dynamic holds when people ask, "How was the market today?” The answer depends on the individual...