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...
