Stocks declined across the board last week leaving clients to ask is this still a healthy market? Last week was the first 5% pullback we have seen in the equity markets since January of 2016. A better-than-expected jobs report sent interest rates higher which, in turn, triggered Friday?s sharp selloff; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 666 points, a 2.54% decline. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury Note rose 0.18% this week, to 2.84%, from 2.40% at the end of December and… View More
We know the question many are asking is "Are we at the end of the bull market yet." We don't think so, and wanted to share some facts to support that statement: The Atlanta Fed is now projecting real GDP growth at a 5.4% annual rate in the first quarter, which would be thefastest growth for any quarter since 2003. We think that's on the optimistic side and expect growth at more like a 4.0% annual rate, but, either way, the economy is showing signs of an overdue acceleration and we are now p… View More
Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase, three of America?s largest companies, announced plans today to start a separate, non-profit company with the goal of improving health care for their U.S. employees. Warren Buffett said in a statement that the three companies do "not come to this problem with answers. But we also do not accept it as inevitable.? This announcement, albeit with vague details, caused shares of companies across the health care industry, from health insurers, to distribu… View More
The market rally continued last week with the end of the government shutdown on Monday and as strong corporate earnings and economic data recharged bullish sentiment. All of the major indices closed at record highs; yet, investors continued to favor large cap stocks over smaller company shares. Treasury yields stabilized after rising by roughly 0.25% year-to-date. One might describe these conditions as a ?Goldilocks? environment: the rate of economic growth is sufficient to support risi… View More
Stocks rose during a volatile week last week as concerns over a potential government shutdown and rising interest rates weighed on investor sentiment. Investors have temporarily retreated from riskier areas of the market: sectors that had been performing well over the past few weeks, such as Energy and Industrials, lagged while Consumer Staples (including food, beverages, and household products), Health Care, and Technology outperformed. Also, large cap stocks outpaced small caps. The gov… View More