Category Archives: Economic News

The Federal Reserve decided to leave their target rate unchanged at 0.00-0.25% at the conclusion of today’s meeting.  This was no surprise, nor was their continued use of the language pertaining to their policy of “exceptionally low interest rates at … Continue reading →

Economic Notes European concerns continued to dominate other issues.  This is unfortunate, considering that U.S. news has been looking better as of late and is perhaps underappreciated.  Japan, which has also been largely ignored, grew for the first time in … Continue reading →

The Federal Reserve decided to hold steady again today, with target rates at 0.00 to 0.25%, which was largely expected.  They reiterated their expectation of keeping rates at these lower levels for the same “extended” period (mid-2013 at this point), … Continue reading →

Just as October gave us a month with equities up 10+%, November started with more negativity.  While European financial officials last week worked countless hours to find an outlet to contain and absorb losses on Greek (along with other peripheral) … Continue reading →

Portfolio Manager Insights When markets took their initial tumble back in early August – after the S&P U.S. sovereign downgrade – we felt a tinge of excitement and initiated buying activity, as some of the earlier complacency that had characterized the … Continue reading →

It’s been quite a quarter in the investment markets.  Declines in stock prices, coupled with a reduction in value for many other assets (including commodities and many bond categories) have combined to push the value of investments across the board … Continue reading →

The third quarter was a rough one for investors, marked by the toxic debt limit debate, the sounding of recession alarms in the U.S., and doubts around the ability of policymakers in Europe to act decisively to stem a broadening … Continue reading →

Late Friday night (August 5th) Standard & Poor’s announced that the coveted U.S. debt rating of AAA was reduced to AA+!  It is the first time in the history of the United States (since ratings began) that it’s been less … Continue reading →

Major stock market indices were down 4-5% yesterday as investors move into panic mode.  There is no single piece of news driving the sell-off; rather the market seems to be gathering downward momentum on its own.  Selling is creating more … Continue reading →

The equity market in the US today is down nearly 1000 over the last couple of weeks (as we write this the Dow is down some 300 points or 35 S&P 500 points). The news is claiming this is due … Continue reading →

Given our expectations for the economy, here are some thoughts on the markets…. Attractive equity market valuations (recall the P/E slide) and less overall volatility for the U.S. stock market (recall the VIX slide) would normally call for an overweight … Continue reading →