Is there something strange in the water in Washington — or perhaps are we approaching the “haunted house” season where strange and scary things come out to spook us? We may not be alone; the market may be feeling the same way, gauged by its recent behavior. An electric vehicle Read more
The economic tale of the pandemic, as we’ve often written in the past year and half, has been one where the acceleration of pre-existing trends has been remarkable — especially when it comes to technology. The after-effects of pandemic-era policies will be with us for some time — with many Read more
U.S. stock indexes came close to their first real correction in almost a year (however, many individual stocks have been correcting for weeks or months). Of the selection of possible catalysts, the one that seemed to get the most attention is the fear that Chinese real estate developer China Evergrande Read more
Water, and the state of U.S. drinking and wastewater systems, entered into the mind of U.S. investors during the Flint water crisis back in 2014. Since then, an acceleration has occurred in domestic water infrastructure spending, coinciding with rapid technological advancements — smart metering, the internet of things, big data Read more
Goldman Sachs summarized the recent official inflation print: “August core CPI rose by 0.10% month-over-month, and the year-on-year rate declined three tenths to 4.0%… There were again signs of wage-price pass-through, with firmness in restaurant, personal care, and healthcare prices… [We] estimate that the core PCE price index rose 0.25% Read more
U.S. Stocks September thus far has seen a modest decline in the S&P 500, which historically has been typical after a period of many months of positive returns. There are many potential reasons — excuses? — for the decline; but the history also suggests that after a string of positive Read more
Since it peaked in February, the U.S. biotech industry has endured a slide that has taken it into bear market territory for the year. Retail investors typically approach this industry through two exchange-traded funds: the SPDR Biotech ETF [XBI], which is equal-weighted, and the iShares Biotech ETF [IBB], which is Read more
In many respects, a relative goldilocks period seems to be ending. Growth, revenue, and profit recoveries have lapped pandemic lows. Further direct consumer stimulus is not forthcoming. Further broad fiscal stimulus is running up against more significant Congressional resistance, and scorched-earth warfare over the debt ceiling may be approaching. The Read more
Last week, we discussed the “liquidity supernova” that has helped drive global stock market indices to new highs, even in the face of many potential challenges — new covid variants, dislocated labor markets, supply chain disruptions, ominous geopolitical events, growing cybersecurity risks, uneven growth recovery, fragile internal market technicals, mounting Read more
It was a great Q2 2021 earnings reporting season, as anticipated, with U.S. firms as a whole beating estimates by 19% (versus a 2% average beat over the period of 2000-2019). From this point forward, the hurdles get higher. Supply chain issues, inflation, labor problems, and consumer sentiment are all Read more
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