Friends   Stocks finished the first week of trading for 2024 in the red – the first down week in 2 months. As was the case yesterday, there was some buying early in the trading session, but the bulls seemed to fade away only to reappear near the close to keep things...

Friends   The bulls tried to resurface today but did so without much conviction. The Dow had a couple of nice runs higher but in the end the market averages limped into the close and for the most part stocks were lower.   For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average...

Friends   So, today’s release of the Fed minutes from the December FOMC meeting showed that Fed officials are looking at rate cuts at some point, but there is no real consensus on when that will happen. And for the second day in a row the Nasdaq led stocks lower. Not...

Friends   Well, here we go. As we enter 2024, I begin my 40th year in the business. About the only thing I know for sure after 39 years as a market observer is that you can’t predict what markets are going to do. Heck, just look at the predictions from pundits at the...

Friends   There appeared to be few participants in today’s trading session. There was a downward bias on the last day of trading which seems to always be the case if my memory serves me correctly. It was a good year for the bulls, and they were content to sit the last...

Friends   As we coast into year end, it is amazing to see that we have basically made a full round trip in the S&P 500 since the first trading day in 2022. After a mostly year long bear market in 2022 we have just about recovered every bit of the downturn here in...

Friends   Again, as expected, it was a very quiet day of trading. The bulls appear to be a little out of gas (though the Dow did rally late) and the bears remain quite uninspired. Stocks basically did nothing all day and on the economic news front there was little to...

Friends   I hope everyone had a great Christmas. As expected, it was a somewhat quiet news day for the markets and also as expected the Santa Claus rally appears to be in full swing as we head into the new year. Stocks rose consistently higher throughout the trading...

Friends   Today it was reported that the PCE (personal consumption expenditures) index rose 3.2% year-over -year. More importantly, over the last six months the index is up only 1.9% or actually below the Fed’s 2% target. What does that mean? Well, it sure would seem...

Friends   After stocks got a little bit of a shock yesterday, the bulls were back in the buying spirit from the opening bell this morning. As for yesterday, when you have a parabolic move higher it’s just a matter of time before you get a day like yesterday. Keep in...

Friends   Stocks continue to edge higher as it appears there just aren’t any sellers at the moment. Yes, the narrative favors the bulls, but there is also a tax component to the lack of sellers right now. If you have a taxable account, you really don’t want to take...

Friends   After a frantic week, the bulls seemed a little out of gas as today’s trading session unfolded. But in the end, they were able to post modest gains in the market averages. Bond yields continue to move lower but this move has been fierce in the last week or...

Friends   Stocks added to yesterday's monster gains as interest rates continue to fall along the yield curve. As mentioned, it’s a somewhat goldilocks scenario for the bulls- slow growth, moderating inflation, full employment, retail spending, and falling interest...

Friends   Fed Chair Powell basically did a pirouette in the endzone while spiking the football this afternoon. As expected, the Fed kept interest rates the same today but more importantly signaled that rate hikes are a thing of the past and rate cuts are in our...

Friends   Today’s CPI number came in about as expected. The year over year rate of inflation is running at about 3.1% which is about where we have been for a couple of months now. Remember, the Fed’s target is 2% so the question is have they done enough to keep the...