Coasting (Further) Down the Mountain | November 5, 2022

Coasting (Further) Down the Mountain The intention this week was to let the market know what it essentially already knew – that this would be the last 0.75% rate increase and that the Fed would begin to slow rate increases. Wednesday’s FOMC Statement was perceived as dovish and immediately sent stocks higher. The presser had […]
READ POST

Sheltered from the Storm | September 24, 2022

Sheltered from the Storm The bear market rally in July and August had many people hopeful, but that rally has now disappeared and we are essentially back at the June lows on the S&P 500. All this has happened as the Fed has consistently raised interest rates to address inflation, which has sent the bond […]
READ POST

Sugar High? | July 30, 2022

Sugar High? The stock market rallied as the Fed said we have reached the neutral rate. Markets are already anticipating a reversal of rate increases as stocks and bonds rallied. It’s as if the recession has been cancelled, or maybe it’s over before we knew it was here. But the Fed emphasized that it is […]
READ POST

Do you Believe in Miracles? | July 2, 2022

Do you Believe in Miracles? We just completed the worst first half stock performance since 1970. (See chart below.) To make matters worse, rates increased and bonds were also hit extremely hard. The result was that the ‘standard’ 60/40 portfolio (60% S&P 500 /40% Aggregate Bond Index) declined a record 16.1% in the first half. […]
READ POST

SNAP Judgement | May 28, 2022

SNAP Judgment After reporting slightly disappointing earnings on April 21, just over a month later, on May 23, SNAP, Inc. (owner of social media app SnapChat – ask your kids if you are not familiar) had this to say: “Since we issued guidance on April 21, 2022, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster […]
READ POST

Looking for One Foot Bars | May 14, 2022

Looking for One Foot Bars After a difficult start to 2022, the tone of markets has become decidedly worse over the last 2 weeks, notwithstanding the rally on Friday, as markets appear to be shifting their focus from an inflation problem to a growth problem (i.e. a looming recession). The S&P 500 is now down […]
READ POST