Market Memo

February 2022 – Dan Zalipski, CFA®

The markets have been volatile in the past several weeks.  The timetable for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates continues to compress as the threat of inflation persists.  As recently as September, the Fed was indicating they wouldn’t raise rates until 2023.  Five months later, and Fed officials are openly suggesting we may see a 0.50% hike as soon as March.  In a market where quarter-point hikes are considered standard, a half-point hike would suggest the Fed waited too long to make their initial move and are now attempting to play catch-up.  Unfortunately, the Fed’s attempt to provide some relief to main street will likely cause some pain for Wall Street. 

Market Minute

February 2022 – By Bob Veres

In U.S. stock market history, bear markets—defined as a drop of 20% or more for a broad market index—happen roughly every four years and eight months. With a couple of recent down days in the markets, we may be in the early stages of a new one.