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By almost any measure, the US economy is performing as well as it ever has. The jobless rate fell to 3.8%, the lowest level since 1969, supporting real wage growth and strong consumer spending. Corporate earnings are set to rise... Read More →

Inflation and Interest Rates Moving Higher Short-term interest rates continued to move higher, pushed upward by the Fed’s continued pressure to normalize rates, while long-term interest rates took a breather during the 2nd quarter. After reaching a 5-year high of... Read More →

Early or Late Cycle? There has been a great deal of debate recently over where we are in the business cycle given the recent acceleration of economic growth. Does this expansion’s anemic growth (slowest on record) mean we have avoided... Read More →

2017 was an outstanding year for equities. Global growth was in sync for the first time since the 2008 recession with the world’s 45 largest economies all in expansion mode. This previously occurred from 2004 to 2007, a period also... Read More →

Nuclear threats from North Korea, natural disasters Harvey and Irma, and tragedies in Charlottesville and Las Vegas all served as proof that stocks want to go up, despite the odds. Indeed, the 3rd quarter was chock full of potential pitfalls... Read More →

After a strong first quarter of 2017, the second quarter was even better, particularly for non-US equities that played catch-up to the steady upward move in US stocks. While leadership within stocks has oscillated between cyclical and defensive sectors, volatility... Read More →

2017 is off to a strong start with stocks, bonds and alternatives all up during the 1st quarter. The stock market rally that began last November with the presidential election has continued with little resistance. Increased optimism is being tested,... Read More →

We began 2016 with a market sell-off that was the worst ever start to a new year, but recovered to end the year firmly in the black. The strong year-end rally was the result of a change in investor expectations... Read More →

Markets did well in the 3rd quarter, primarily due to the Federal Reserve maintaining low interest rates and an economy that continues to show gradual improvement. While this economic expansion is now the fourth longest since WWII, it is also... Read More →