Author Archives: Mike Minter

With the 2020 Presidential Election less than a year away, it’s natural to be concerned about the impact of politics on the stock market and economy. After all, the past three years have been politically turbulent to say the least. Read More

Interest rates have been on a rollercoaster ride this year. The 10-year Treasury yield was as high as 2.8% at the start of the year before falling below 1.5% only two months ago – the lowest level since 2016. It’s now risen almost half a percent to 1.94%. As a result of this rate volatility, the yield curve also inverted briefly earlier this year. What are interest rates telling us today, and why does this matter to everyday investors? Read More

The S&P 500 (+0.9%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.1%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%) broke out to new record highs in a week full of trade headlines that were viewed favorably by the market. Cyclical sectors set the pace while U.S. Treasuries sold off. The small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.6%) trailed its large-cap peers. Read More

The S&P 500 (+1.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.7%) both set record highs in this macro-driven week that featured the Fed, economic data, earnings reports, and trade news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, and the Russell 2000 rose 2.0%. Read More

This report features world capital market performance and a timeline of events for the past quarter. It begins with a global overview, then features the returns of stock and bond asset classes in the US and international markets. Read More

As the corporate earnings season kicks off, it’s important to consider not only how companies are doing, but also how far they have come over the past decade. This is because, for long-term investors, there’s nothing more important than economic growth and its impact on corporate profits. Read More

The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% this week, as the first busy week of earnings reports for the third quarter was generally viewed as better than feared. The benchmark index outpaced the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%), but fell behind the Russell 2000 (+1.6%). Read More

The stock market endured a volatile start to the week, but a strong second half helped the major averages secure gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed, gaining 0.9% since last Friday. Read More

The markets staged an impressive comeback rally on Friday, though the S&P 500 still declined 0.3% for the week. Several economic reports reawakened growth concerns and contributed to heavy selling, but the market was able to end the week on a positive note following decent employment data for September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9%, and the Russell 2000 lost 1.3%. The Nasdaq Composite increased 0.5%. Read More