October turned in a wild ride for financial markets, as stocks, bonds and commodities all had volatile months. There were a number of interesting market moves that we could discuss, but I will just touch on a couple that I feel will be important for the next couple years. In my prior commentary I noted…
The health or weakness of the economy is something that directly impacts the financial markets, our communities and our families. Given the mixed nature of recent reports on the economy, I wanted to spend some time covering a few items that are important in keeping some of the recent economic headlines in perspective. InflationWe have…
In recent commentaries we have talked about the fact that stock market valuations are above-average by historical standards. While this poses significant risk for stocks over the next several years, it does not necessarily mean that they will drop in the next few months. Stocks can continue to move higher so long as there is…
It’s been two years of relative calm across the European Union (EU) following years of political turmoil, debt crises, and protests that pushed the EU to the brink of collapse. Many economic reforms have been enacted since the peak of the European debt crisis in 2012, including relaxing deficit-reduction requirements and increasing monetary stimulus measures. …
As I write this commentary on October 11th, we are seeing the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 reach its second correction of 5% or more this year, with the first one being in January and reaching a maximum depth of -5.76%. Historically there has been an average of 3 declines of 5%…
With the S&P 500 stock index setting records on a daily basis, many market pundits continue to call for a long overdue correction in U.S. equity markets. According to a recent Wall Street Journal study, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) experiences a bull market correction on average every 12 months. The Dow is now…
Prior to 1978, China maintained a centrally planned economy. It was poor, stagnant, inefficient and isolated, mainly because the central government planned and managed most aspects of the economy and there was no free market at all. At the end of 1978, Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese top leader at that time, decided to make a…
Living in Denver at about one mile above sea level, we hear a lot about the thin air. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. People love to play golf and baseball up here because the ball goes further. Hikers and skiers coming up from lower elevations can sometimes get altitude sickness, particularly if they…
It wasn’t another 12th hour debt ceiling debate or the conflict in Eastern Europe that brought the largest market correction to the S&P 500 in over a year last month, but it was the increased risk of an emerging market currency crisis. The recent developments in a number of emerging market currencies have brought back…
2013 was a surprisingly good year for U.S. equity investors, and many investors are wondering if the positive returns will continue through 2014. I will say at the outset that predicting the likely return of the stock market has been more difficult than normal over the past few years, as the exceptionally low interest rates…