A Confused Market Financial Markets We do hope our readers are enjoying the springtime holiday season.  The United States equity markets closed the holiday-shortened week mixed.  Although, had the market remained open through Friday, the results may have been different.  Friday’s jobs report was received as a positive by many investors. The Dow closed up…

The Nexus of Politics and Economics Financial Markets It was a good week, month, and quarter for financial markets, as investors appeared to shrug off all of the unpleasant news that came their way.  Major headlines have been both economic and political—a former president was indicted, bank failures caused a scare, and the Fed raised…

An Odd Market Indeed! Financial Markets Equity markets are reacting to every piece of news that comes out and with very little consistency.  This past week was an excellent example given the constant news flow regarding ongoing issues in the banking sector and the Fed moving forward with another 25 basis point rate hike.  As…

A Damaged Market Psyche! Financial Markets Roiled by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, markets were certainly volatile last week.  Despite quick action by regulators, fear of a broad-based banking collapse mounted as the week progressed.  For the week, the Dow closed down 0.15%, the S&P 500 closed up 1.43%, and the NASDAQ closed up…

Markets Soften and Disaster Strikes the Middle East Financial Markets U.S. Equity markets lost ground this past week.  The smallest stocks suffered the most.  The Dow fell 0.17%, the S&P 500 was down 1.11%, while the NASDAQ fell 2.41%.  Interestingly, they fell in reverse order of how they advanced since the start of the year.…

The Fed Slows with Mixed Economic Signals Financial Markets U.S. equity markets closed Friday on the downside, but the S&P 500 and NASDAQ still had excellent gains for the week.  The Dow closed down 0.15%, the S&P 500 closed up 1.62%, and the NASDAQ closed up 3.31%. As anyone who follows the markets is aware,…

A Winning Start! Financial Markets Equity markets have greeted the New Year with a remarkable rally.  For the week, the Dow Industrials rose 1.81%, the S&P 500 rose 2.47%, and the NASDAQ led the field gaining 4.32%.  One interesting observation is that the New Year gains are in reverse order of last year’s losses, with…

The Switch is Almost Complete Financial Markets Last week, we wrote about the changing expectations of investors.  They went from fear of an overheating economy and rising inflation to an economic downturn and earnings disappointments. Equity markets were quite volatile during the past week. The market opened on Monday with gains, adding to what had…

The Rally Continues Financial Markets It has been a remarkable start to the New Year.  Through the first two weeks, most financial markets have been ebullient compared to what many analysts expected. This past week, the Dow gained 2.00%, the S&P 500 gained 2.67%, and the NASDAQ gained 4.82%.  Looking internationally, the MSCI EAFE[1] and…

A Remarkable Start! Financial Markets It was truly a remarkable start to the New Year, not just for investors.  Last week, we watched the astonishing merry-go-round with the Republicans’ efforts in selecting a Speaker of the House.  This will likely have unhappy economic consequences later this year.  More on this in the economic section. Equity…