February 2025 market update
January seemed to go on forever, as the country faced extreme weather and devasting wildfires. The new administration got underway with a lot of sound and fury, particularly around tariffs, which had been a highlight – or a wild card – of the campaign promises. This temporarily caused some market turmoil, but a reversal in […]
2025 Market Outlook w. Mary Ann Bartels
Mike Barry talks to Sanctuary Wealth’s Mary Ann Bartels about potential opportunities and which sectors may be volatile as we enter 2025.
January 2025 market update
The inauguration of only the second U.S. president to win two non-consecutive terms (Grover Cleveland was the first) is historic by a host of measures. Starting a second term of office with the president’s party controlling both houses of Congress gives rise to expectations of an opportunity to move the goalposts on what worked well, […]
December 2024 market update
The transition to a new administration is underway with announcements of cabinet position nominees. The pro-business lean of the incoming government is not a surprise, and the emphasis is likely to be on deregulation and tax cuts. Several of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 were set to expire in […]
What is the yield curve (and why does it matter)?
Every decade or so, economists and analysts start talking about the yield curve. As jargon goes, “yield curve” is one of the worst offenders. However, when you look closely at how interest rates work, it’s easy to understand why the yield curve is important, and why many traders and investors use it to help forecast […]
November 2024 Market Update
An election season with several twists and turns came to a not-unexpected end with the reelection of President Donald Trump. The received wisdom is that the financial markets hate uncertainty, and we certainly saw some evidence of that in the rally that followed the decisive election results. How will a new White House regime impact […]
October 2024 market update
September equity markets ended the month in positive territory, but with volatility increased. The VIX, the markets “fear index” closed higher than last month, at 16.73, up from 15.00. Intramonth, the values ranged from a high of 23.76 and a low of 14.90. September’s somewhat surprisingly 50-basis point reduction in interest rates kicked of the […]
Are commodities a golden opportunity?
Every few years, three precious medals hold the world’s attention: gold, silver, and bronze. The metals used in those Olympic prizes, however, may be more important in terms of how they impact traders, investors, the global economy, and even how we think about money. While stocks and bonds tend to be the core building blocks […]
September 2024 market update
As summer ends and September begins, attention is focused on the long-anticipated change in the Fed’s monetary policy, from holding rates steady to returning rates to lower levels. July and August non-farm payrolls indicate a slowing labor market, but other economic indicators are holding steady and show an economy that is still solid. While there […]
The state of the economy
Politicians love to throw around economic statistics on the campaign trail. In the runup to an election we tend to hear about American jobs, small businesses as the backbone of the economy, inflation, government spending, and more. It can be difficult to sort through various talking points to ascertain what’s happening in the economy. To […]
