Notes

In the second quarter, markets shrugged off concerns about inflation and potential rate moves by the Federal Reserve.  Buoyed by AI enthusiasm and mega-cap outperformance, U.S. equities moved upwards, with the S&P 500 Index gaining 4%.

It was another great quarter for the S&P 500 Index, which represents the top companies in America.  That makes two quarters in a row that the return on the index has exceeded 10%, an extraordinarily rare occurrence.

What a difference a year makes.  This is from last year's recap: “Stocks [in 2022] had their worst year since 2008.  The possibility of a coming recession was the main cause of investors’ pessimism.”  In the year just ended, we saw nothing even close to an economic downturn proving the expert forecasters wrong again for the umpteenth time.  Instead, the

In recent months, investors have grappled with a steady stream of developments that weighed negatively on market sentiment.

The equity markets continued to perform handsomely in the second quarter of 2023.  Companies involved in the digital revolution such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Analog Devices, Lam Research, Broadcom, Skyworks Solutions, and Everspin are leading the charge.  Those companies are among the primary innovators in the field of information technology, and they all happen to be based here in the

In the wake of a horrendous 2022, stocks and bonds started off the new year with vigor.  The macroeconomic environment has begun flashing green signals.  Covid restrictions are largely over.  Inflation is gradually abating.  The Federal Reserve Board has begun slowing its interest rate increases.  The price of oil is below $75 a barrel.  Corporate profits are stead

Across the board, 2022 was a challenging year for investors.  Stocks had their worst year since 2008 with the S&P 500 Index dropping 19.4 percent.  The possibility of a coming recession was the main cause of investors’ pessimism.  To make matters worse, fixed-income assets (bonds) took a beating in 2022 as well.  The U.S.

Investor sentiment is quite unsettled these days.  Most market participants have memories of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, if not the economic malaise of the 1970s, and wonder if we are headed for a reprise of those dark days.  It is a reasonable concern given all the unusual economic and geo-political events of recent times.  Stubbornly high inflation, ongoing disorder in di

In the never-ending quest to divine the future of stock market returns, the pointy-headed prognosticators of Wall Street are having conniptions trying to predict where the U.S. economy is headed these days.  The experts’ forecasts range all over the place from cautiously optimistic to mildly complacent to totally terrified.

The current economic worries and geopolitical uncertainty have put many investors on the defensive – and understandably so.  Surging inflation, rising interest rates, continuing Covid disruption (especially in Asia), and now a serious war in Eastern Europe are presenting a unique mix of challenges for the global economy.  Nervous investors have triggered heightened volatility in