Markets
Volatile 3Q 2022 Features a Shortlived Bear Market Rally, But Silver Linings Emerging
We began the third quarter of 2022 on a positive note with an equity market rally through mid-August. This was a welcome development after the challenging start to 2022 but did not last, as rising interest rates and uncertainty regarding the direction of the economy created significant volatility through the rest of the quarter. read more...
Helmets Back On: More Potential Market Turbulence This Fall
It’s been quite a summer in the markets. After the weak start to 2022, the markets rebounded substantially in June and July. The S&P 500 Index was up 9.1% for the month of July alone. This strength did not last and was followed by a rapid sell-off in August. read more...
Uncertainty is Worse than Bad News
Human brains do not like uncertainty. In fact, in 2016, researchers at the University College London showed that their subjects experienced less stress if they knew that they were going to receive an electric shock, versus knowing that there is a small chance of a shock. read more...
Roller Coaster Markets
Two months ago, I wrote about navigating the market’s “rapids”, as we had begun 2022 with high levels of market volatility. I’ll continue the theme this month, this time with roller coasters, as the markets continued to be tumultuous through May. read more...
Q1 2022 Market Review: Navigating the Rapids
The first quarter of 2022 has been an eventful one, as rapidly rising inflation, the prospect of faster than expected Fed tightening, and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia caused high levels of market volatility. There was nowhere for investors to hide as the equity markets fell into correction territory and the bond markets broadly sold off. As the quarter closed, the S&P 500 index had recovered, however still finished the quarter -5%. read more...
Market Update: What the Invasion of Ukraine Means for the Markets
In January the market was focused on how much the Fed would raise interest rates, and how fast, as inflation measures continued to rise. After a bit of a relief rally at the end of January and beginning of February, concerns of an imminent attack on the Ukraine rose as Russian soldiers amassed on the Ukrainian border, rattling markets and spurring a “risk-off” move to safer securities. read more...
Why You Should Care About the Fed
The Fed 101, Inflation, Tapering and What It Means to Investors In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting financial market disruption in early 2020, the Fed provided substantial monetary policy support to the US economy by lowering short-term interest rates and purchasing securities, primarily US Treasuries and mortgage bonds. This latter program was called […] read more...