The Long and Short of Interest Rates When the week started, it appeared that short-term rates would be the ‘story of the week’ due to a planned drain of Treasury cash (See “Are Negative Rates Coming Despite Fed Opposition”, below.) However, on Thursday, long-term rates took center stage as the 10-year yield jumped from a […]
When it Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There… Those old enough will probably recognize our title from the iconic Federal Express tagline ‘When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight’. When the pandemic hit almost a year ago, one of the key words of the time was delivery. Groceries were delivered in record amounts, […]
Centenarians Dilemma At PWM, we strongly prefer that all of our clients complete a retirement planning exercise so we can properly advise them in all their financial decisions. One of the key questions we need to estimate in developing the plan is how long they expect to live. The classic mistake is assuming that they […]
Taking Stock of 2020 There is no doubt 2020 was one for the record books and in more ways than one. We were planning this commentary several weeks ago, but the craziness continued into 2021, so we postponed the comments until this week. Surviving through 2020 required discipline because it is far too easy to […]
Are we in a Bubble, and if so, is it Ready to Pop? Over the years we have experienced some crazy weeks in financial markets. This week is one right up there with the craziest of them. The big topic with investors and non-investors alike is: ‘Are we are in a financial bubble?’. The craziness […]
Commodities – The Bull Market You Aren’t Hearing About Over the past several months, these pages have been littered with concerns about inflation re-appearing. Much like recessions and pandemics, we never really know precisely when inflation might happen. This inability to predict markets is at the heart of our investment process. The world is unpredictable, […]
Bond Yields Raise Their Ugly Head Most of the time, market commentary focuses on the stock market, but every so often, the bond market flexes its muscle and takes center stage. This week was one of those times and with good reason. The push-pull of more fiscal policy to help the economy and the inflationary […]