The beginning of November saw Trump retake the White House along with the Republican party taking control of both the House and Senate by slim margins. What followed has been coined the “Trump Trade,” as markets initially responded positively to the victory. The S&P 500 rose 5% from the 4th to the 11th before cooling […]
Continue Reading ›2025 Changes to 401k/403b/IRA Savings Plans
Employees participating in their company retirement plans (401k and 403b) have new incentives to boost the amounts contributed to those plans coming in 2025 through the Secure Act 2.0 passed in 2022. Super-sized catch-up contribution for ages 60-63: Plan participants ages 50 and over have been able to defer up to $7,500 in addition to […]
Continue Reading ›Why Is “Market Breadth” Important?
The recent stock market performance has been quite good, and many investors may have come across the term “market breadth” watching the financial news or reading market updates. Market breadth measures how many stocks traded each day are going up or down in unison. A strong market has positive market breadth, which means most of […]
Continue Reading ›Economic Resilience: Fifteen Years of Perspective
The US economy has weathered a lot of disruptions and changes since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the first quarter of 2020. The shutdown of the economy triggered a brief bear market in stocks and a recession that lasted two quarters before the impact of federal government support began to kick in. The start date […]
Continue Reading ›October 2024 Monthly Market Update
As investors await election results, the focus in October was on corporate earnings. According to FactSet, 70% of S&P 500 companies reported Q3 2024 earnings results through October 31st. Earnings reports can create big swings in stock prices as investors weigh in on individual companies’ results and outlook. Revenue and earnings estimates are analysts’ forecasts […]
Continue Reading ›September 2024 Monthly Market Update
Financial assets posted a strong third quarter, with the S&P 500 up 5.89% and the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond index up 5.20%. Globally, central banks have begun cutting rates due to reduced inflation and rising unemployment risks. The graph below demonstrates how many of the world’s major economies’ interest rates are influenced by one another. […]
Continue Reading ›August 2024 Monthly Market Update
Equity markets began the month of August a bit choppy as investors digested a Bank of Japan rate hike and higher US unemployment data. As a result, a sharp, but brief, drawdown commenced and the CBOE Volatility Index, or fear index, spiked to a high last seen at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 […]
Continue Reading ›July 2024 Monthly Market Update
The second half of 2024 kicked off with a shifting global economic landscape shaped by anticipated rate cuts, evolving inflation trends, and large performance differences among stocks/sectors. Treasury yields dropped significantly in July, including the 2, 5, and 10-year benchmarks. Value stocks beat growth stocks by the widest margin in years, with the Russell 1000 […]
Continue Reading ›June 2024 Monthly Market Update
The post-COVID economic recovery has been notably uneven, often described as “K-shaped”, due to the divergence in economic realities for Americans. Those with substantial assets and high incomes have largely done well. Homeowners with low mortgage rates and no need to take on debt have been insulated from higher interest rates. Strong stock market returns […]
Continue Reading ›May 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stock indices climbed in May, with the S&P 500 and Dow gaining 4.8% and 2.3% respectively. U.S. Treasury yields ended the month relatively unchanged regardless of maturity. For the last two years, the Federal Reserve Bank has been reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) by limiting the reinvestment of maturities and […]
Continue Reading ›April 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stocks broke a five-month winning streak in April as the S&P 500 declined 4.2%, bouncing from an April 18th low of -5.5%. Bonds also declined, with the U.S. Aggregate Bond Index falling about 2.5% as yields rose. The two-year U.S. treasury yield hit 5% for the first time since November, gaining 41 basis points (+0.4%) […]
Continue Reading ›March 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stocks posted a strong first quarter, with the S&P 500 market-cap weighted index returning 10.6%. The S&P 500 equal-weighted index gained 7.9%, demonstrating broad-based gains across individual stocks. AI-related stocks continued to lead the rest of the market. The Federal Reserve decided to maintain the benchmark interest rate range of 5.25%-5.5% at their March meeting. […]
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