Where to Now? Financial Markets Financial markets around the globe suffered persistent losses this past week.  In the United States, the Dow fell 4.79%, the S&P fell 5.79%, and the NASDAQ fell 4.78%.  The markets haven’t seen this kind of behavior in a long time.  Internally, sector performance was all in the red, with the…

Inflation, the Fed, and Interest Rates Financial Markets Financial markets continued their decline this past week.  The cause continues to be fears that if inflation continues, the Fed will be forced to continue to raise interest rates, demand will fall in response, pushing the United States into a recession.  Whether this actually comes to bear…

A Trendless Market Financial Markets U.S. financial markets started this past week with hopes that we may be at a turning point, but ended the holiday-shortened period with losses.  Both equity and fixed income fell.  The S&P 500 fell 1.20%, the Dow fell 0.94%, and the NASDAQ fell 0.98%.  Investors were concerned about the strength…

From Mao to Deng and Back Again Financial Markets Equity markets made a remarkable recovery this past week, ending a seven week losing streak.  It is difficult to say if this strong showing is just a bounce in a down market or the beginnings of a recovery.  There are still plenty of concerns for investors…

Another Difficult Week Equity markets were beaten down last week by many of the same factors that have been bothering investors since the beginning of the year—fear of inflation, rising interest rates caused by the Federal Reserve’s attempts to combat rising prices, a slowing economy, and the Ukraine/Russia war, to name a few. The markets…

Chaotic Markets Reflect a Chaotic World Financial Markets Clearly, the markets have been trading in a chaotic fashion.  For the past two weeks, significant moves have been made early only to reverse trend by week’s end.  It is well-known that markets abhor uncertainty, which, of course, is true.  At the risk of being redundant, a…

A Confused Market Financial Markets If ever there was a week that proved the axiom, “investors hate uncertainty,” it was this past week.  Investors have been primarily focused on two important questions:  how is the Federal Reserve going to respond to inflation, and what is going to be the result of the Russia-Ukraine war?  Unfortunately,…

A Rough Start To 2022 Financial Markets With the exception of certain currency markets, most major market indices suffered large declines this past week.  It was the culmination of four months where both equity and fixed income markets fell.  The reasons for the volatility haven’t changed, only their order of importance.  Primary factors at play…

The Fed at a Crossroads Financial Markets Investors must have felt there was nowhere to hide this past week.  Financial markets in the United States and across both the Atlantic and Pacific suffered large losses.  The market’s reaction was inspired by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, which were interpreted as an increased concern over…

A Difficult Week Financial Markets Financial markets slumped during the holiday-shortened week.  The reasons will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the markets for the past few months—inflation, war, disease, and the Federal Reserve—the market version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Investors, at the moment, appear to be very risk…