In the last issue, I wrote about the prospect of interest rates rising and the impact that would have on stock prices.  A tame inflation picture After rising from 2.66% on September 8th to 2.96% on October 26, the 30-year rate on US Treasury bonds has moved back down. At the close on November 6,…

Evocative of the saying, “You can’t keep a good man down”, you could easily say, “You can’t keep a bull market down.”  Since the bottom in 2009, every time the market seemed to meet an insurmountable challenge, it found a way to power through.  Over the past month, hopes for global economic growth combined with…

“It’s a Bull Market until proved otherwise” is an old Wall Street saying.  From what we have experienced in recent history, this old adage makes sense.  Starting in 2009 to the present, Bull has withstood negativity, fear, Greek crises, Brexit, elections, you name it and still makes its way higher.  Many pundits say the Bull…

Is there Russian interference? The seemingly widening question of Russian influence in the 2016 Presidential Election and in the current Trump administration has gripped the headlines and placed a new concern as to the continuation of the bull market.  It is hard to predict where the investigations will lead.  However, I don’t believe that even…

Stocks remain resilient Until the past two weeks, geopolitics is something that the market has ignored for quite some time. With North Korea saber-rattling with its missiles and the US firing off some of their own at Syrian targets, stock market volatility has increased. In addition, the fear-trade seems to be on again with investors…

Continued good economic news The economic news continues to come in reasonably good. Consumer sentiment, jobless claims, and manufacturing gauges are all continuing to be positive. Good data also continue to come in from China and Europe. European inflation for the first time since January 2013 hit 2%, a signal that the extraordinary actions the…

As we move into February, stocks continue to show strength, albeit without the explosiveness we witnessed in January.  Expectations for policy changes such as a reduction in regulations, tax reform, and increased spending continue to support the bulls.  However, the optimism may be losing some of its luster.  Interest in safety trades There seems to…

I’d like to wish all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.  Promises of Tax Cuts and More Government Spending 2016 is gone and with it the tensions surrounding the US election. My guess is that the old saying that “one campaigns in poetry but governs in prose” is likely to hold true. …

I hope everyone’s summer was fun and an enjoyable break. This summer, unlike the recent past, did not bring a decline in the markets.  The old proverb, “Sell in May and go away” was not the right call this year. For the most part, the markets managed to grind higher.  The events that were supposed…

I ended my commentary last month with the sentence, “Hopefully good economics will prevail this time around”. Brexit decision That sentiment became more of an open question following the unexpected decision by the British electorate to leave the European Union. The immediate market response was to run for cover. The British Pound fell precipitously, stocks…