After a brutal September, the S&P 500 bounced 8% during October. With the heightened fears of the Liz Truss UK debacle in September, news could not get any worse—and it didn’t. When market sentiment and fear reach extreme levels, a constant stream of bad news is required to push indexes down further. In the absence of further unwelcome news, markets bounced. The October Market Commentary will try to help explain what is going on.
Interest rates reached levels last seen in 2010 following U.K. prime minister Liz Truss’ surprise deficit-widening budget (and associated borrowing requirements) forced bond sales by U.K. Pensions in order to meet margin calls. U.S. Treasury rates, already moving higher in September, were pushed to even higher levels as panic set in at U.K. pensions in search of liquid assets to unload quickly. The September Market Commentary will try to help explain what is going on.
Groupthink is incredibly powerful. If enough people believe something, will it come true? In the case of equity markets, yes—but only temporarily. Equity investors are slowly learning that the Fed must fulfill its inflation mandate for the first time in a generation. The Fed no longer has your back (as long as inflation persists)as it was previously. The August Market Commentary will try to help explain what is going on.
The Fed remained hawkish during the July meeting, but traders were having none of it, despite continued multi-decade highs in inflation. Yields on the US Treasury 10 Year fell 36 basis points during July as investors begin to price in an economic slowdown. Recall that the 10 Year was nearly 3.5% a month and a half ago. Bond managers have switched from inflation fear to recession fear. The July Market Commentary will try to help explain what is going on.
Continued Fed Hawkishness Drives Equities Lower and Rates Higher. In the face of rising inflation, the Fed turned increasingly hawkish, which pushed 10 Year US Treasury rates up seventeen basis points to 3.02% in June. While this was much lower than the 3.48% achieved in mid-month, the fear of continuing higher rates was enough to push equities down 8.8% in June. The June Market Commentary will walk you through the ups and downs and try to help explain what is going on.
The start of a new year is the perfect time to evaluate your finances to see how you are doing in terms of spending, saving, investment performance, and long-term planning. To continue keeping your financial health in check, there are things you should keep up on throughout the year. We’ve created an easy to follow quarterly financial to do list to help you stay the course en route to your financial goals.
As the year closes and you are looking at your taxes, consider these tax implications for 2022.
Check back here in the coming months for the latest tax and estate changes that can affect your investments.
As the summer closes, there are two news items that are expected to impact the markets. The first is the message from the federal government that they intend to taper its bond purchases. The second is the negative Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey about consumer confidence. Learn how each will likely affect the market to prepare for the coming changes.
What you should know about the Green Book tax proposal – the first retroactive capital gains increase in U.S. history that may have far-reaching consequences.
This is the first installment of Mark’s Corner – estate and tax news you can use. Check back here in the coming months for the latest tax and estate changes that can affect your investments.
June 2021 is ending the month on an unconvincing run as breadth diminished, even as the overall index increased. This narrowing participation strikes us as a sign of risk, as investors remain unconvinced about future strength and where rates will go. As a result, equities remain in equity-rotation limbo. Review Stableford Capital’s June Market Commentary to inform your decisions.
