Inflation dominates the markets Financial Markets Analysts, investors, and financial journalists alike have been focused on inflation and what it means for the economy and financial markets.  The question has become paramount as more Federal Reserve officials make public their concerns about how they, the Fed, have gotten behind in trying to control price pressures. …

A Directionless Market Financial Markets United States equity markets ended this past week almost unchanged, with the Dow down 0.12%, the S&P 500 up 0.06%, and the NASDAQ up 0.65%.  With so many market moving events at play, short-term traders are having a hard time finding a consistent theme to follow.  Utilities, Consumer Staples, and…

Equities post a second straight weekly gain Financial Markets United States equity markets posted gains for the second week in a row.  The reason investors turned positive is not entirely clear.  Certainly, the Ukraine-Russia conflict does not appear to be coming to a close, and the path of interest rates is clearly higher.  Whatever the…

A market reversal with mounting questions Financial Markets This past week, equity markets had their best performance since November 2020.  The advance came after the Federal Reserve raised their benchmark rate for the first time since 2018, while peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continued with mixed results.  The Dow rose 5.5%, S&P 500 increased…

Confusion remains supreme Equity Markets As everyone in the investing world knows, volatility has been extraordinarily high.  It was elevated before the Ukraine crisis, but has now risen to levels seldom seen.  Not only are we experiencing large day to day fluctuations, but intraday volatility has been high as well.  Although it may seem like…

The war is everything! Equities Of course, the title is an exaggeration, but not much of one. Oil supply and prices will continue to be an important factor for financial markets. Last week, one could follow the course of the conflict by following the path of the equity markets. The war clearly wasn’t everything. A…

A Cold Wind from the North Financial Markets U.S. financial markets suffered another week of confusion.  Monday through Wednesday equities advanced.  Although improving COVID trends initially served as a tailwind for stocks, investors had to deal with Thursday’s Consumer Price Index report which indicated the highest rate of inflation in 40 years.  Markets declined in…

Volatility Continues Financial Markets Interpreting the equity markets lately has been somewhat like reading James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.  Every time you look at it, you think it’s telling you something different.  This past week was a wonderful example.  Stocks started on a positive note, trending positively through Wednesday, then prices declined on Thursday, only to…

The dreaded emotion of uncertainty Financial Markets Although investors were rife with economic and political uncertainty, equity markets closed this past week in positive territory for the first time this year.  This was led by a surprisingly strong earnings report from Apple, the world’s largest company.  There are several serious concerns troubling both analysts and…

A difficult week for investors Financial Markets U.S. equity markets fell this past week for the third consecutive week.  The S&P 500 and the Dow had their worst week since April 2020 as investors shed risk assets.  There were a number of reasons for this behavior, some old others new.  The primary reason is the…