Category: Weekly Investment Update

This year’s stock market correction and increased volatility has monopolized the headlines and commentary leaving other important issues unaddressed. One of those topics is tax planning. The new standard deduction which is part of the 2018 tax law will increase the number of individuals and couples who will use the standard deduction. This change, by […]

Why do we constantly hear about investment time-horizons? Because, as the old saying goes, time in the market is a consistently effective approach to investing while timing the market is not a dependable strategy. It is impossible to know what the market is going to do. We can’t even agree on what the market has […]

The stock market correction stalled last week. One of two headwinds was eliminated when Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, confirmed the members of the Federal Open Market Committee are not the ill-informed, mindless and stubborn group many self-serving market participants and commentators had declared them to be in recent weeks. The market gained 4.85%, as measured […]

Stock prices continue to churn, to put it kindly. By finishing Thanksgiving week 3.79% lower, the S&P 500 added another 10% correction (from the September 20th high) to the 2018 record book. The current negative mood may continue for a few more weeks and percentage points but at the moment, a bear market decline of […]

Treasury note yields pushed lower as investors raised allocations to what were deemed to be safer assets. The 10-year note yield ended the week 18 basis points lower at 3.06% and the 2-year note finished 12 basis points lower at a yield of 2.80%. Stocks were lower last week with the S&P 500 settling down […]

Although the S&P 500 finished 2.13% higher for the week, the correction’s presence continued to be felt with a decline of more than 1% in the final two days of the week. Fundamentals continue to be positive and the outlook for 2019 remains upbeat. Factset Research Systems Inc provides the following points from this season’s […]

An October Surprise is typically a phrase used in politics to describe an orchestrated event timed to be sprung in the weeks immediately preceding a November election. It is difficult to imagine a surprise this October which could have stood out among this year’s already overabundant supply of orchestrated political events. Instead, we will use […]

The S&P 500 finished the week down 3.94%, settling at 2,658.69. The index is 9.28% below the September 20th all-time high. The correction may well continue with the next test, an additional 3% lower to 2,581.00, its low close on February 8th at the bottom of this year’s earlier correction. Interest rates have done little […]

This weekly update has often explained that a successful financial plan is about focusing on personal goals and the variables in our lives which we can control. Short-term market action is obviously not one of those variables. Weekly market moves will only distract investors. This is not an original thought. Legendary investor, economist and university […]

The S&P 500 lost 5.58% from last month’s record high but is still up 3.50% year to date. Was this the correction that didn’t come during the summer? Was this the beginning of another 10% correction similar to the 10.16% decline we experienced between January 26th and February 8th? Could this be the start of […]