Stock Market
China – U.S. Trade Deal = Stronger Emerging Markets?
Phase 1 of the China-U.S. trade deal is signed this week, easing trade tensions between the two countries. How does this deal impact investment strategy? Since President Trump took office, the U.S. has imposed tariffs and other trade measures against China and other countries. At times, these moves cast a pall over stock markets, leading…
Iran: Geopolitical Risk Creates Market Volatility
On January 3 the U.S. attacked and killed Quasem Soleimani, Major General from Iran that the U.S. accused of plotting terror. This surprising bout of uncertainty caused the stock market to pull back, while the price of oil and gold (a safe haven) rose strongly. The biggest cause of volatility in the stock market is uncertainty….
2019 Was a Big Year in the Stock Market – What’s Next for 2020?
Last week we talked about how 2019 was shaping up to be a great year for the stock market, rising about 30% for the year. Not too many people predicted that outcome a year ago! The natural question is: what’s in store for 2020? We don’t know – nobody does. But as I’ve mentioned before…
Stocks Have Had A Great Year
It’s hard to believe that 2019 is almost over! Just a year ago the stock market was in the midst of a 20% correction and investors were nervously wondering whether a recession was on the horizon for ’19. Turns out those worries were misplaced! Through mid-December, the S&P 500 has generated total returns of ~30%…
“Bund Yields Bounced Last Week” – WSJ
This was the curious headline in the Wall Street Journal recently talking about how German 10-year government bond yields (affectionately known as “Bunds”) climbed 0.15% in one week. That’s quite a move. But what wasn’t talked about is what the yield climbed too. As you can see in the chart below, the yield climbed all…
Presidential Election Years And The Stock Market
Like it or not, we’re within a year of the 2020 Presidential Election! And with it comes the usual assortment of emotional predictions about where the country and stock market will be headed depending on who wins. Since making emotional investment decisions is an almost sure-fired way of hurting long-term investment returns, we like to…
