Closing In Artificial intelligence and questionable intelligence dictated the action in the financial markets. Early in the week stocks drifted lower as debt ceiling talks progressed without resolution and the Fed minutes showed uncertainty about future monetary...
No Fresh Drama The equity markets moved higher, with the usual suspects (Apple and its fellow tech giants) continuing to lead the charge, but with the rally broadening out as other stocks joined the party. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3%, the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, and...
Last Week: Negative Spin Don’t worry, be happyIn every life we have some troubleBut when you worry, you make it doubleDon’t worry, be happyDon’t worry, be happy now Bobby McFerrin penned those lyrics back in 1988. Today’s grandstanding politicians and attention...
Another Rate Hike Uncertainty remained in fashion on Wall Street, with a mixture of comforting and disquieting headlines. On the one hand corporate earnings reports and the economic data releases were encouraging; on the other hand, there were fear mongering short...
Aftershock The market suffered from an SVB aftershock early in the week, as banking concerns resurfaced after First Republic Bank (FRC) revealed a continued deposit outflow. First Republic, the 14th largest bank in the U.S., relied on wealthy customers with large...
Watch the replay of Eric’s April 20th small cap segment on TD Ameritrade Network here. Stalemate April trading remained somewhat calm and quiet, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.1%, the Nasdaq sliding 0.4%, and the Russell 2000 gaining 0.6%. It has been one of the...
A Case for the Consumer Last week, the equity markets rose supported by mounting evidence of disinflation and solid results from JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and other large banks. The gains were muted by the release of the Fed’s March FOMC minutes on Wednesday and...
Modest Rebound Trading got off to a crude start Monday as oil prices surged following news of a production cut led by Saudi Arabia. Regional banks got hit on Tuesday as analysts cut price targets on the group, in an excellent example of closing the barn door after the...
Volte Face It was all good news for the equity markets starting with the FDIC backed acquisition of SVB by First Citizens Bancshares on Monday and ending with a tame inflation report on Friday. Every sector of the market rallied with advancing issues outnumbering...
Monetary Phenomenon Bankers around the world stole the headlines and fortunately not their depositors’ money. The new breed of bankers is quite different than those envisioned in the song “A British Bank” from Mary Poppins: “They must feel the thrill of totting up a...