October 2023: Rising Bond Yields: What They Mean for the Economy
The 10 Year US Treasury Bond Yield brushed 5%. This is the highest yield on that bond since July 2007. If bond yields remain at these elevated levels, this will be the third consecutive year of losses in that critical financial market. As you can see from the table, three consecutive negative years hasn’t happened […]
September 2023: Higher Interest Rates: Navigating a Tough Transition
This week want to highlight some of the impacts higher interest rates are having on the economy. The Fed has been raising rates now for over a year and a half. They have increased their overnight lending rate from 0% to 5.5% over that period. This is the largest increase in rates since the 1970s […]
August 2023: The U.S. Credit Downgrade: What It Means for the Economy
Fitch (one of the big three Ratings Agencies—the others being S&P and Moody’s) reduced its credit rating on US bonds from AAA (the highest possible credit rating) to AA+ (the second highest credit rating). The company cited “a deteriorating fiscal position over the next three years and repeated down to the wire debt negotiations”. This […]
June 2023: Student Loans: What the Court Ruling Means for the Economy Going Forward
This morning the United States Supreme Court ruled against the Biden Administration’s plan to forgive up to $430 Billion in student loan debt. In a 6-3 decision, the court disagreed with the White House that the proposed forgiveness plan was merely a modification of an existing program. Chief Justice Roberts said, “the Secretary’s plan has […]
May 2023: The Debt Ceiling: What It Is and Why It Matters
This week we wanted to discuss the debt ceiling, a topic that has been getting a lot of attention lately. We have written on this topic before, but felt it was worth revisiting. The debt ceiling/limit is the total amount of money that the US government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal […]
March 2023: From Stress to Support: How Markets Are Absorbing the Shock
Well, a lot has happened over the last week making this week’s note a bit challenging. So, today we’ll write about what the government has done to mitigate the runs at small and regional banks and what has happened as a result of last week’s bank run. As we discussed last week, Silicon Valley Bank […]
March 2023: Banking Sector Under the Microscope: Stability Amid Volatility
Today we are going to address the “elephant in the room” in the stock market—Bank Stocks. Since February 7th, 2023, the Banking Sector stocks have reversed from up 13.5% ytd to down 8.5% ytd. Most of this reversal has happened over the last week due to investor fear related to Silicon Valley Bank. […]
Februaury 2023: Building Momentum: How Buyers Sparked a Strong Start to the Year
January has been an interesting month. Despite many warning signs of an impending recession, the global stock market managed to rise by just over 6% during the period. So, what is driving the recent upward swing in stock prices? This week we’d like to peak behind the current and show you the source of the […]
December 2022: A New Dawn of Progress: Why the World’s Most Powerful Innovations Are Still Ahead
This year has been challenging and not just in financial markets. The major mood in the world seems to be one of exhaustion and fear. That is understandable given all that’s happened during 2022. Some of the more depressing items of the year include: the war in Ukraine, the fall of Afghanistan, the assassination of […]
November 2022: Positioning for Strength: Opportunities Emerging as Consumers Rebalance
This week we want to briefly review how the consumer is holding up in a weakening economy with high inflation. The best way to get a sense for the consumer’s health is by looking at retail revenue growth and credit card spending. […]