The summer months are often characterized by sleepy low volume trading, but the experience in 2017 makes that statement even more pronounced than normal. It is no secret that in recent months, observed volatility is extraordinarily low, but Friday marked the 12th consecutive trading session wherein the S&P500 moved less than 0.3% throughout the day; […]

Will stocks ever go down again? This seemingly absurd question is actually the result of Google search auto-complete feature if one starts typing the phrase: will stocks ever While we obviously do not root for the market to do so, the answer to this funny question is YES as the strong rally that has gone […]

Domestic equities managed to establish fresh all-time highs again last week despite an economic backdrop that remains well short of robust in terms of pace. At the same time global central bankers continue to speak in a way that leaves little doubt they desire to continue on a path toward more normal monetary policy. But […]

Global markets were roughly unchanged last week (S&P500 +0.1%), but volatility picked up as investors appear to be increasingly focusing on a more hawkish Fed and other key central banks talking that direction as well. This tone shift is probably appropriate based on sound economic readings being more normal including (actually low) unemployment rates, steady […]