Insights Investments

As the third quarter earnings season draws to a close, attention shifts to the outlook for the coming year.  A prevalent theme across industries is a return to normalcy. The COVID pandemic wrought widespread disruption in supply chains and labor markets, coupled with enduring shifts in consumer preferences that have shaped multi-year trends. With more …

The sell-off in bonds from August 6, 2020 to October 24, 2022 was dramatic and difficult. The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (“Agg”) is actually up 3.6% off of the October 2022 lows despite additional volatility this year. We are often asked when it’s safe to add bond duration (the sensitivity of a bond or …

2023 has been a year unlike any other, then again, all years are unlike other years. From everyone expecting a recession and continuation of the bear market at the start of the year, to the regional banking crisis in March, to one of the best first halves to a year for stocks ever, to a …

It is that wonderful time of year again where mutual fund capital gain distributions are compared to lumps of coal in investor’s stockings. A rebounding stock market and another year of outflows from actively managed mutual funds means capital gains distributions for remaining shareholders. Traditional mutual funds face this problem due to the fact that …

A number of factors and causing the stock market to continue to experience high volatility, causing uncertainty for investors. With October’s correction, are there signs of a market bottom? A potential rally? In the latest episode of Facts vs Feelings, Carsons’ Chief Market Strategist, Ryan Detrick & VP, Global Macro Strategist, Sonu Varghese explain why …

Lost in all the consternation over a weak payroll report last week was the fact that we got good productivity data a couple of days before that. Labor productivity rose at an annualized pace of 4.9% in Q3. This is not entirely surprising because we already knew output surged in Q3, and hours worked didn’t …

We have consistently emphasized this year that our House View – a strong consumer base powers a resilient economy – continues to resonate in both the broader stock market and economic indicators. As we sharpen our pencils, though, we’ve discerned shifts in consumer preferences. The consumer appears undeterred by inflated prices for everyday indulgences, such …

The October payroll report was weaker than expected on several fronts: Monthly job growth came in at 150,000, below expectations for a 180,000 gain. The unemployment rate ticked up from 3.8% to 3.9% Average hourly earnings growth rose at an annualized pace of 2.5% in October, well below expectations for close to a 4% increase. …

“If there were ironclad rules, we would all be following them.” -Josh Brown of Ritholtz Wealth Management Although we saw a late October bounce, the S&P 500 officially moved into correction territory last week. By definition, a correction is when stocks are down more than 10% from a recent peak, in this case, down more …

2023 was a year many economists and economic models called for a recession only to see accelerating growth; a year when soft data surveys and hard data economic “facts” diverged, with hard data presenting a better picture; and a year when inflation fears remained elevated even as inflation fell. We do not want to minimize …

The stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” – Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla – have buoyed major indices throughout the year, fueled by the growing enthusiasm surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI). As the third quarter earnings approached, all eyes were fixed on this elite group due to the remarkable performance of their stocks …