Chasing Yields
Our latest musings about actions and events affecting the investment landscape
With All This Talk Is Anyone Really Listening?
As a bond trader for over 40 years, I’ve seen many brokerages and banks consolidate. One of the well-known stock brokerage houses in the 70’s and 80’s was E.F. Hutton, who later became part of a Citigroup/Morgan Stanley joint venture.
Your debt is up 10%+ from last year (3); ready to pay it down?
The national public debt is essentially a collective responsibility that falls on all tax-paying individuals in our country. This debt represents the fees the government pays to fund its operations, including borrowing costs and interest on loans.
To Cut, Or Not To Cut, That Is The Question?
This week, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee Meeting kicks off its May policy meeting. Expectations are that the Fed will maintain its position and wait for more hard facts to support the decision to lower interest rates, possibly making its first move to reducing rates in June or July.
Read our latest Market Insights.
Can We Trust Better-Than-Expected 1st Q Earnings?
This week, about 30% of companies that make up the S&P are reporting first-quarter earnings. While many of these companies announced better-than-expected numbers, the big question lurking over the markets is, "Can we trust 1st quarter earnings considering the...
Small Businesses Take the Brunt of the Tariff Blow
As the current administration continues to impose higher tariffs on countries worldwide, confidence and uncertainty among individual investors, small businesses, and corporations plummet. According to Apollo Global Management's Chief Economist, Torsten Slok, the...
Business Pessimism Stagnates Corporate Planning
This week, the Federal Reserve Bank of NY released the findings of its April Empire State Manufacturing Index, a snapshot survey of the health of the manufacturing sector in NY. As per the respondents, there was a modest decline in business activity, which was,...
Who Will Buy Our Debt Today?
As the US Treasury prepares to sell $39 billion 10-yr bonds today, the big question on economist’s minds is, who will buy our bonds? The Treasury sells billions of dollars in bonds to fund government debt; typically, foreign central banks…
Keeping an Eye on the Dollar
As the U.S. braces for global reactions to tariffs, investor attention has been predominantly focused on how the stock and bond markets are trading.
Market Expectations Reaching New Lows
The investor’s Consumer Confidence Index for March reached a 4-year low of 92.9, down from 100.1 in February, according to The Conference Board. Also released was the Expectation Index, which lists consumers’ short-term outlook for…
Market Uncertainty is Plentiful
As investors weigh the steady volume of negative news and opinions on market uncertainty, there are few places to hide from the storm.
Is the Market Rollercoaster Making You Sick? It Does Not Have to Be That Way
2025 has not been the soaring growth market investors had envisioned, but quite the opposite. Since 1/2/25, the DJIA has dropped from a 42,905.09 high to a low of 41,010.24, a loss of just under 1900 points.
Are We Creeping Toward Stagflation?
Last week, inflation-adjusted consumer spending fell .5%, the most significant monthly decline in four years. Consumers have become increasingly cautious about spending as they digest higher price shocks, pending tariff consequences, the DOGE job losses, and the trickle-down effect of these developments on…