By Steven Smith | Newsletters
The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 2.46% in the quarter; but not without a whipsaw caused by the June 23rd vote in Great Britain to leave (Brexit) the European Union. Two days of steep losses (over 5%) were almost completely recovered in the last three days of trading. The index gained 3.99% […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Investment Management , Money , Newsletters , Retirement
The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 1.35% in the quarter. This was no mean feat considering what was occurring in January. The first two weeks of January welcomed the worst start to a year for the S & P 500 in history. The index was down 7.93% from January 4 -15. For […]
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The stock market actually achieved a sizable gain in the fourth quarter. But it sure didn’t feel like it. Going in to the quarter the S & P 500 (Total Return) Index had been down 5.29% for the year. So the 7.04% fourth quarter gain resulted in a small 1.38% increase for the year; almost […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Newsletters
The extreme volatility during the last week of August virtually ordained the market’s performance for the quarter. Stocks were weighed down by China’s slowing economy and the continuing pressure on commodity prices (especially oil.) China has accounted for approximately half the world’s demand for industrial commodities. The Fed continues to waver on raising interest rates; […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Investment Management , News , Peak Thoughts , Risk Management , Wealth Management
Unless you haven’t been paying attention (and kudos if you haven’t) you know that the last week or so has seen a significant sell off in the world stock markets. Ordinarily, I’m loath to fall into the financial media’s trap and ascribe market moves to any particular cause(s). But a few things have been happening […]
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There was plenty of noisy global economic and financial news in the second quarter. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is teetering on the verge bankruptcy. The Chinese stock market looks like a monopoly game. And the debt negotiations between Greece and the European Central Bank simmer on. With that backdrop the S & P 500 […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Financial News , Investment Management , Money , Newsletters
Amidst continued slow global growth, particularly in Europe, the Federal Reserve is remaining cryptic as to when it will begin to raise interest rates. Foreign central banks are keeping their interest rates extremely low as well. US economic growth remains sluggish, but is still better than most of the rest of the world. The Fed […]
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Unquestionably the biggest economic story of 2014 was the price of a barrel of oil dropping over 50% since June –from over $100/barrel to $50/barrel. This was the result of three phenomena: 1) the enormous increase in US production over the last few years, 2) falling demand due to the increased use of alternatives and […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Newsletters
What goes up must come down. I always attributed that idiom to Blood, Sweat & Tears and their 1969 hit song, Spinning Wheel (which peaked at No. 2 before it came down.) But apparently the real author is Sir Isaac Newton back in the 17th Century. Go figure. But with the post 2008 bull market going […]
Continue readingBy Steven Smith | Investment Management , Meanderings , Money , Risk Management , Wealth Management
In our estimation, the last week of the United States Supreme Court’s 2013/2014 term was a watershed for Modern Portfolio Theory and the Efficient Market Hypothesis; two essential components in the notion that publicly available information is rapidly incorporated into the prices of securities traded in a robust public market. For a generation now, intelligent […]
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