First, before any commentary, it is important that, while this newsletter deals with dollars and cents when discussing global crises, we keep in our minds and hearts the human cost, difficulties, and sometimes tragedies that go along with events. Coronavirus infection rate will continue to rise We are not experts in health or politics. We…

Coronavirus stalls the market’s upward bias After a strong run-up to the end of 2019, the market began in 2020 with an upward bias. This, unfortunately, stalled as the Coronavirus began to spread in China. In response to the contagion, China has sealed off cities, and transport to and from China has been reduced. The…

As we look back on 2019, the headlines were terrible. “Trade Wars”, “Impeachment”, “Iran”, “Brexit” and “China” dominated the news cycle. Add to this the cacophony of pundits talking about “recession” and it is no wonder that investors pulled $135.5 billion out of equity mutual funds and ETFs during the year. It has been the largest…

It’s hard to believe 3/4 of 2019 is already in the books. The lingering trade war with China and the prospect of more trade wars with Europe and any other comers has created uncertainty in corporate boardrooms and with investors. As a result, the US economy has not been able to sustain the momentum it…

We are back from the summer and the stock market is, despite some big up and down days, pretty much at the level where it began the summer. The bond market is a different story The bond market is a different story, interest rates in the US and Europe steadily declined throughout July and August.…

The stock market is gripped once again by the US-China trade negotiations. The US has upped the ante by increasing tariffs on $200 billion of goods imported from China.  President Trump has threatened to expand the list.  China has retaliated and could consider other measures. It may well be that the threats and negotiations will go on…

The stock market put up a tremendous quarter that brought prices within a few percentage points of all-time highs. Once the Fed convinced the markets it was not going to blindly hike rates to send the economy to oblivion, the market stabilized from its 4th quarter swoon and launched higher. The other fears that plagued…

The stock market has sharply moved higher, erasing about 60% of the September 20 to December 24 decline. Will the economy slow in 2019? While investors are breathing a bit easier, the mood on Wall Street is far from euphoric. There is a general feeling that the economy in 2019 will slow and corporate profits…

2019 could not have arrived sooner for investors. The 4th quarter of 2018 was terrible for stocks, culminating in the worst December since The Great Depression year, 1931. During the 4th quarter, a combination of events tipped the market over after the new highs at the end of September. From October 1 to December 31,…

In the course of 2018, the US stock market hit a high at the end of January, then immediately suffered a quick 10% correction. This was followed by many months of recovery to achieve a new high in September only to once again immediately fall 10% into another correction. 2018: Tired bull market or index…