At the beginning of every new year we look toward the future in anticipation of what it will bring, and for years we've shared Bob Doll's Top 10 Predictions because he tends to get over 70% of them correct every year. As we begin the second half of the year, we wanted to share an update on how this year's predictions are working out. Below is his mid-year scorecard. The BLUE predictions are correct so far, and the RED predictions are too early to call yet. So far, 2018 has been a … View More
Trade headlines are likely to continue dominating markets; that is, until the second quarter corporate earnings season begins in July. The trade tensions between the U.S. and China continued. Thus far, the Trump administration has threatened to impose tariffs on roughly $450 billion of Chinese goods, nearly equivalent to the total value of Chinese imports last year. China promised a strong response including retaliatory tariffs as well as increased regulatory scrutiny on U.S. companies o… View More
Markets were mixed last week as macroeconomic and geopolitical developments continued to dominate headlines. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and plotted a slightly more aggressive timeline for future rate hikes. In doing so, the committee noted that “economic activity has been rising at a solid rate.” On Thursday, the European Central Bank announced plans to end its bond-buying program in December. The move signaled the beginning of the end of extraordinary… View More
There has been a lot of talk as to whether the latest tax reform from Washington is having an effect on our economy. You hear “this tax cut was only for the rich and does nothing for the average working man”. We hear how “this tax plan is the worst thing that has ever happened to us” and how some in congress have vowed to repeal it because “it is pure evil and only benefits the one percenters”. We here at Fortem are not in that camp because all the economic data we rely on says ot… View More
To little surprise, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points following yesterday’s meeting. Of much greater note are the hawkish changes made to the text of the Fed's statement (and with no dissents), as well as changes in the forecast materials. While these changes are clearly in line with the continued improvement in economic data over recent months, it's a positive development from a Fed that has been exceedingly cautious over recent years in upgrading its outlook on… View More