There is nothing easy about forecasting financial markets, and when combined with a President who changes his mind in a matter of moments on policies that may a have lasting impact on sectors, industries, or specific companies, it becomes that much more challenging. Three weeks into Trump 2.0 we felt it was as good a time as any to review our sector recommendations. We feel being overweight the Financials, Industrials, Utilities and Energy sectors remains a prudent strategy. The deregulation st… View More
With the fourth quarter reporting season more than 60% reported, both earnings and sales growth have been quite strong. EPS growth is expected to be 14.8%, with 9 of the 11 sectors exceeding estimates from the start of the quarter. Sales growth is also expected to be strong overall with estimates sitting at 4.8%, with 9 of 11 sectors currently exceeding estimates from the beginning of the reporting season. While there is still 40% of the index left to report, there are few that could really swa… View More
Following 100 basis points in rate cuts through the back half of 2024, the Fed started 2025 with a pause, placing itself in wait and see mode for the foreseeable future. Starting with today’s FOMC statement, there were a few language changes worthy of note. On the employment front, prior comments that labor market conditions have eased and the unemployment rate has risen, now state that the unemployment rate has stabilized and labor market conditions “remain solid.” With regards to inflat… View More
Nvidia Corp. and ASML Holding NV shares plunged early Monday as Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek appeared to provide comparable performance to Western chatbots at a fraction of the price. Nvidia shares fell about 9% in premarket trading, while ASML’s shares dropped as much as 11% to €626.20 apiece in Amsterdam trading, the biggest intraday drop since Oct. 15. The technology heavy Nasdaq 100 futures index also slumped. The latest AI model of DeepSeek, released last week, is … View More
Is Government Spending Inflationary? The stimulus bills approved by Congress starting in 2020 led to the largest surge in government spending in history, coinciding with a sharp rise in inflation. This has led many to assume that government spending itself caused inflation. But is that assumption correct? In today's "Three on Thursday," we explore whether government spending inherently leads to inflation. Milton Friedman famously stated, "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenome… View More