George Hosfield, CFA, discusses Ferguson Wellman's quarterly strategy titled, "Inflation's Flame Flickers," which addresses the narrow market leadership, the impact of higher interest rates on inflation and how assets are priced at this stage of the economic cycle.
George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the firm's quarterly strategy titled "Stalemate," which highlights the Fed's ongoing battle to tame inflation along with our views on the health of the banking industry and capital market expectations for the balance of the year.
Director and Chief Investment Officer George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the Fed raising interest rates, peaking inflation and our view on equities and volatility across all asset classes in our Investment Strategy titled, “Balancing Act.”
On Wednesday, the last significant economic data release occurred before the Federal Open Markets Commitee (FOMC) meeting next week. Overall, inflation appears to be tamed with the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling to a 2.5% growth rate compared to a year earlier, hitting a new three-year low.
Since the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on July 11, the stock market has experienced a noticeable shift in leadership as the inflation rate continues to move toward the Fed’s target of 2%. Investors have been moving away from technology stocks, which have been the darlings of the market this year, towards small-cap and value stocks.
We present the recording of the “Wealth Management Insights Forum: Impactful Planning through Life’s Phases.”
The Dog Days of Summer are here! In addition to the record heat waves expected to bombard the West Coast this weekend, we also await what typically occurs around this same time: equity market volatility and below average returns.
Inflation, fast becoming the most dominant market and economic theme of 2021, has media and market commentators fixated on the topic, this blog included. In fact, this will be our fourth entry covering inflation in the past five weeks. While we apologize for “beating a dead horse,” we would be remiss if we did not provide our readers with further clarification on the subject.
This week, as we usher in a new administration, there has been an increased focused on another stimulus package to keep the economy on solid footing. While the lame-duck session of Congress recently passed a $900 billion stimulus and checks have started being issued, the current administration is looking for an additional $1.9 trillion in stimulus. While negotiations will most likely bring this number lower, clients are voicing concerns about the national debt.
Looking back on the first six months of fixed income performance this year reveals a stark tale of two strikingly different quarters.
This week, Alphabet Inc., parent company to Google, became the fourth company to join the “trillion-dollar market value club,” that includes Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. Besides the significance of their “trillion dollar” size, why do we care so much about the market value of these companies?
Investors anticipating Fed rate cuts in the months ahead have become inversely sensitized to economic news supporting continued economic expansion. Last week’s surprisingly tepid payroll report and today’s reassuring read on U.S. retail sales resulted in opposing stock price reactions.
While yesterday was Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, this week’s 0-for-7 statistic unceremoniously belongs to the Federal Reserve for failing to achieve its 2 percent inflation target since it was established seven years ago.
For the week, the equity markets were down more than 1 percent as investors followed political events in Washington D.C. While the markets have been mostly focused on the global surge in earnings growth this year, political drama took center stage this week as there are concerns that the current administration will be unable to successfully enact tax reform and deregulation.
Amid the busiest week of second quarter earnings reports, blue-chip stocks continued to trade near record levels. With nearly 40 percent of the S&P 500 companies having reported over the past five days, the clear plurality of results has exceeded expectations.
Despite improving economic data, the S&P 500 finished the week flat. Solid global PMI’s continue to move interest rates higher around the world. 10-year yields in Germany hit an 18-month high, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury finished the week at 2.39 percent. Just 11 days ago the benchmark U.S. rate was at 2.13 percent.
First quarter earnings season kicked into high gear this week and investors were treated to a smorgasbord of blue-chip results across a range of industries. As they typically do, numbers for most companies have exceeded Wall Street expectations, but with almost 20 percent of the S&P 500 now having reported, the .75:1 ratio of “beats” is modestly better than where it has been over the last several quarters.
Most markets, international stocks and the U.S. Dollar ended the week near where they started. Stocks are quietly ending a strong first quarter, with this week leaving the S&P 500 up a little over 1 percent and the Dow Jones up about 0.5 percent.
Stocks posted a 0.5 percent return this week as investors became more confident in economic and fiscal policies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average passed 21,000 for the first time and equities posted their first 1 percent day in over four months.
What has become known as the Trump Trade has delivered strong equity returns since election day last fall, with the benchmark S&P 500 rising by 6.5 percent over this period. More remarkable is the fact that the blue chip index hasn’t experienced a 1 percent or greater loss since October 11, 2016.
After rallying into the end of the year, both interest rates and the market took a little breather this week. The S&P 500 finished the week basically flat, while the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury finished at 2.40 percent. A quiet week as we head into earnings season.
Treasuries are wrapping up with their first weekly gain since the U.S. election and stocks are mixed in pre-holiday trading. Yields on the 10-Year Treasury benchmark closed at 2.54 percent, down from last week’s close of 2.59 percent. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Index are trading at slightly higher levels than where they started on Monday.
The stock market was slightly positive on the week up around .20 percent taking a break from the strong move upwards following the election in November. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are within striking distance of all-time highs. The 10-year Treasury bond sold-off this week with the yield rising from 2.47 percent to 2.55 percent as treasury prices and yields move inversely to each other.
