Investment Commentary – March 25, 2015 Dow – 17,718.54 (3/25/15 close) (-.0.55% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,061.05 (3/25/15 close) (0.10% YTD) NASDAQ – 4,876.52 (3/25/15 close) (2.96% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 1.92% (3/25/15 close) (-11.52% YTD) U.S. stocks plunged today, closing more than 1% lower as investors weighed the impact of the strong dollar on [...]
Investment Commentary – March 19, 2015 Dow – 18,076.19 (3/18/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,099.42 (3/18/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,982.83 (3/18/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.95% (3/18/15 close) The Federal Reserve today set the stage for its 1st interest rate hike since 2006 signaling its confidence in the U.S. economy. Yet the Fed slightly downgraded [...]
Investment Commentary – March 11, 2015 Dow – 17,662.94 (3/10/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,044.16 (3/10/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,859.79 (3/10/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.13% (3/10/15 close) February’s jobs report last Friday confirmed the strength in the U.S. labor market. New jobs numbered 295,000, well above expectations, with gains particularly evident in cyclical sectors. [...]
Investment Commentary – March 3, 2015 Dow – 18,288.63 (3/2/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,117.39 (3/3/15 close) NASDAQ – 5,008.10 (3/2/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.08% (3/2/15 close) U.S. equities were largely unchanged last week in what was a relatively quiet 5 days, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index continued to push toward a new [...]
Investment Commentary – February 25, 2015 Dow – 18,209.19 (2/24/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,115.48 (2/24/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,968.12 (2/24/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.99% (2/24/15 close) Fed Chair Janet Yellen provided Congress yesterday with an upbeat view of the labor market and said policymakers will raise interest rates when they are “reasonably confident” [...]
Investment Commentary – February 18, 2015 Dow – 18,047.58 (2/17/15 close) (1.26% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,100.34 (2/17/15 close) (1.99% YTD) NASDAQ – 4,899.27 (2/17/15 close) (3.44% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 2.14% (2/17/15 close) (-1.38% YTD) Stocks continued to advance last week and are now ahead of bonds for the year. On a global basis, [...]
Investment Commentary - February 11th, 2015 Dow - 17,868.76 (2/10/15 close) S&P 500 - 2,068.59 (2/10/15 close) 10 year Treasury - 1.99% (2/10/15 close) S&P 500 volatility has remained elevated in the first 6 weeks of 2015 as investors react to uncertainty around the Fed, major oil price swings and disappointing S&P 500 earnings. Interestingly, [...]
Investment Commentary – February 4, 2015 Dow – 17,666.40 (2/3/15 close) (-0.88% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,050.03 (2/3/15 close) (-0.44% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 1.78% (2/3/15) (-17.97%) · Financial Markets remain highly volatile, with violent swings in the oil price and interest rates adding to the angst. With stocks remaining under pressure, investors continued to [...]
Dow – 17,191.37 (1/28/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,002.16 (1/28/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.72% (1/28/15 close) · The Federal Reserve gave no signal yesterday that it’s backing away from plans to raise interest rates this year, noting that it expects unusually low inflation to gradually pick up as the “transitory effects” of tumbling oil [...]
Investment Commentary – January 21, 2015 Dow – 17,515.23 (1/20/15 close) (-1.73% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,022.55 (1/20/15 close) (-1.75% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 1.81% (1/20/15 close) (-16.59% YTD) Volatility has reemerged in 2015 with the VIX (Volatility Index – measures stock market volatility) remaining above its long term average of 20 last week as [...]