Last Week In our last commentary, we discussed the onset of the tariff fog. It is safe to say that the fog thickened dramatically, as the details unveiled were far denser than even the most draconian forecast. President Donald Trump's “Liberation Day" turned into...
Last Week Fog appears to be the new buzzword on Wall Street. One definition of Fog is “something that confuses or obscures.” A dense Tariff Fog has descended on the U.S. economy, resulting in dangerous driving for investors and business operators. The hazard lights...
Last Week As March Madness unfolds, we embrace the bounces and rebounds on the hardwood floors around the country, as well as those on Wall Street. The market snapped its four-week losing streak, rebounding from correction territory. The bounce off the correction was...
Last Week In the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s deja vu all over again” as the market slumped to a four-week losing streak, and trade war and economic downturn concerns continued to unnerve investors. “I don’t like Mondays” was in fashion as trading kicked off with...
Last Week The adage goes, “March comes in like a lamb and out like a lion.” For investors, March 2025 came in like a bear, or perhaps, as referenced in the 1977 Heart song, “like a barracuda.” “And if the real thing don't do the trick You better make up something...
Last Week Despite a decent bounce on Friday, damage was still done earlier to the equity markets thanks to the uncertainties caused by tariff talk and softening economic data. The S&P 500 slipped 1%, erasing most of the remaining gains for 2025 and leaving the...
Last Week The good news is that the stock market set new record highs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bad news is that weak guidance from Walmart on the state of the consumer reversed those gains. The ugly news was the economic data on Friday, specifically the...
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...
Last Week It was the best of times for Magnificent 7 and Crypto enthusiasts, with both asset classes surging over 6%. Fundamental investors, handicapped by paying attention to traditional valuation measures, missed the party. In fact, declining issues outnumbered...
Last Week The Santa Claus rally that started in November 2023 continued to jingle away as the market logged its 53rd record high for 2024. While the Scrooges bemoaned inflation and tariffs, other investors embraced the strong economic data and loaded their...
> Last Week A banana affixed to the wall with a piece of silver duct tape sold for $6.2 million to a cryptocurrency operator as the price of Bitcoin approached $100,000. Turning to more traditional assets, the U.S. dollar, gold, crude oil, and every stock market...
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