Quick Takes After starting on a down note in the first week of the year, U.S. stocks and bonds rebounded in the second. The S&P 500 Index was up +1.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up +3.1%. However, small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 Index...
Key Points Risk Matters Virtually all asset classes were up for the month, quarter, and year ending Dec. 31, 2023. Yet most are still negative on a two-year basis because of a basic principle that shapes investing: market returns are not symmetrical. It’s not very...
Quick Takes Stocks and bonds started the new year on a down note. The S&P 500 Index was off -1.5% in the first week of 2024, while the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index fell -1.2%. The losses extended overseas, with the MSCI EAFE Index losing -1.3% and the...
Quick Takes The S&P 500 Index was up +0.3%, marking nine straight weeks of gains. That’s the longest weekly winning streak since 2004 and leaves the index just below its all-time high set on January 3, 2022. For 2023, the S&P gained +24%. The 2-year U.S....
Quick Takes The S&P 500 Index was up +0.8%, marking eight straight weeks of gains. That’s the longest weekly winning streak since November 2017 and leaves the index just +0.9% from its all-time high set on January 3, 2023. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield fell...
Quick Takes On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve maintained its key policy rate at 5.25%-5.50%, but the most noteworthy aspect came as Chairman Jerome Powell surprised economists and delighted investors with a press conference that was much more dovish than expected. ...
Quick Takes Investors appear to be betting that there will be sufficient economic strength for the U.S. to skirt a recession but not too much strength that the Fed will have to remain restrictive with monetary policy. That helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq advance for...
Key Points November to Remember Like the ’70s hit single “Every 1’s a Winner”, virtually all major asset classes had their groove on in November, and everybody was a winner. The collective cross-asset return for eight major asset classes was the second-strongest...
Quick Takes The S&P 500 Index gained +0.8% for the week, its fifth straight weekly gain. The Nasdaq is also on a five-week win streak after gaining +0.4% last week. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index jumped +3.1% for a three-week win streak. The MSCI EAFE Index was...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has tweaked the rules for Form 1099-K, and here’s the scoop! This adjustment comes after getting feedback from taxpayers, tax pros, and payment processors. The goal? Less confusion. The IRS has hit the pause button on the new...
