Market Memo

October 2021 – Dan Zalipski, CFA®

The market has been adrift since Labor Day, with the major indices churning and reacting to the day-to-day headlines.  The debt ceiling is suddenly an issue again, the Delta wave dragged the recovery, consumer prices are on the rise, the labor shortage persists, as does the supply chain issues outlined in our previous Market Minute. There’s a lot of negatives swirling out there that we’re all aware of.  Therein lies the silver lining; when we are all worried about the same concerns, it’s likely already reflected in the market.

Market Memo

September 2021 – Daniel Zalipski, CFA®

They say the markets climb a wall of worry, and this past quarter has been no exception.  It is somewhat natural for investors to be on the lookout for the next event that could trigger a dramatic sell-off, even more so when the markets are bouncing near all-time highs.  This practice seems to exaggerate the longer the broad market climbs higher without a decent pullback.  The longer this type of environment persists, the louder the warnings of selloffs and corrections will get.  Will the delta variant send us into a tailspin, or perhaps the proposed tax increases will spook the markets, or will the Fed send us lower? 

Market Minute

September 2021 – By Bob Veres

There is absolutely no question that, from a historical standpoint, yields on U.S. government bonds are terrible.  10-year Treasuries that were issued at 1.25% a year are now yielding 1.297%, which is not terrific when the inflation rate is somewhere between 6% and 7%.  If you go shorter term, 5-year Treasuries are trading at a yield of 0.788% a year, and 2-year Treasuries are offering a somewhat less-than-generous yield of 0.215%.

August 23, 2021 – Daniel Zalipski, CFA®

Stock prices are influenced by several factors, both technical and fundamental.  Technical factors are commonly thought of as external factors that influence a stock’s price, such as liquidity or regulatory action.  Fundamental factors tend to focus on a company’s earnings and their valuation; the price investors are willing to pay for their claim of future earnings.  As we pass the mid-point of the quarter, it is time to check in on earnings and valuations within the broader market.