Dear Valued Investor, Market volatility has arrived in force. The slowdown in the economy and more policy-driven volatility was the consensus expectation coming into 2025. What was not expected, however, was how much the Trump administration would lean into tariffs....
Dear Valued Investor, The new month brings two major market-moving stories to digest. First is the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) by Chinese startup DeepSeek. It has caused some investors to question America’s lead in the AI race and American Exceptionalism...
Dear Valued Investor, Stocks had another very strong year in 2024. In fact, 2024 marked the first time the S&P 500 has enjoyed a +20% gain in back-to-back years since 1997 98. Last year didn’t start out so optimistically though. The list of worries among...
Dear Valued Investor, Solid gains for stocks gave investors a November to remember. In fact, the S&P 500’s more than 5% advance marked its best month of 2024. Several factors played into the stock market’s continued move higher. The U.S. economy continued its...
Finally! For the first time in more than four years, on September 18, the Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates. While the debate over how big the cut would be was settled (a half point, not a quarter), questions about where the Fed will go from here and what it might mean for the economy and markets will continue.
Dear Valued Investor, With fall upon us and students back in classrooms, it seems like a good time to reflect on the various tests that the U.S. economy and stock market have passed recently. When the economy and markets are tested, the foundation for future growth...
Dear Valued Investor, Stocks finished the first half of the year the same way they started — with solid gains. Strong rallies from big tech names, combined with somewhat softer economic and inflation data, helped propel the S&P 500 to its seventh monthly gain in...
April showers brought May flowers as markets placed greater importance on economic growth and corporate profits than the “higher for longer” interest rate messages from the Federal Reserve (Fed)…
After a strong first quarter for stocks, some April showers rained down as the S&P 500 fell about 4% last month. Hopefully those showers will bring some flowers in May, despite the widely cited stock market adage, “Sell in May and go away.”
LPL Research examines fourth quarter earnings season, February’s market activity, and what it could mean for March.