We may have started a new year, but we are still talking about inflation! On Thursday, December’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released. The report showed the prices rose 3.4% year over year (compared to 3.1% in November) – however, after removing volatile food and energy, Core CPI rose 3.9% month over month (a […]

Happy new year! I trust that you had a great holiday season and are ready for a wonderful year ahead. The calendar turned to a new year only a few days ago and already the markets and business media are off and running with their 2024 predictions. Countless money managers and economists are filing the […]

As one of our favorite research firms said after yesterday’s Fed announcement – Ho Ho Holy Moly! It sure seems like the Federal Reserve saved the best rate announcement of 2023 for last. Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a message that the equity and bond market both eagerly accepted as an early holiday present. In response, […]

I’ve been writing to you on a weekly basis for a year and a half now. At times, I certainly appreciate the fact that I am likely repeating myself, sharing a topic with you that we have covered in the past. This is one of those weeks – but arguably, this is one of the […]

Welcome to December! We’ve officially turned the calendar to the final 31 days of the year (a month where many of our calendars are now filled with chocolate and treats!) Hopefully you all enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving with your families and are ready for the conclusion of another action packed year! A lot has happened […]

Earlier this week, two inflation reports were published for October. Let’s take a look at what they said and the market reaction. First up was Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). It came in at 0.23% month over month, compared to 0.30% consensus. Year over year rise was 3.2%, far slower than consensus of 3.7%. Shelter slowed […]

I came across two recent interviews with Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman Charlie Munger this week – who is less than two months away from celebrating his 100th birthday (January 1). It’s impossible to listen to Charlie (or his business partner Warren Buffett) and not come away with some words of wisdom. Feel free to listen […]

I’ve written about trend lines in the past – reminding you (and myself) that (a) no trend line lasts forever and (b) they move in both directions. This week was yet another example of this fact as interest rates made a sharp reversal and started moving down just as rapidly as they had gone up […]

As I’ve mentioned in the past, we subscribe to a few research services to help provide timely information and analysis of markets. One of these firms (FS Insight) published a video this week discussing the “wall of worry” markets have been attempting to climb (unsuccessfully) ever since late July. I thought it would be worthwhile […]

Markets – stocks and bonds alike – seem singularly focused on one factor in recent weeks – interest rates. The business news channels have the 10-year interest rate ticker in the corner of the screen, watching it near a 5% level all week (which it crossed late Thursday night). As rates continue to rise, both […]