Posts by Mike Verity

Stocks drifted lower this morning after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released inflation data for December. Headlines are calling the report “hotter” than expected. The Dow is currently off about 100 points and the S&P 500 is down .4%. Bonds are trading modestly lower as well. The interest yield on the 10-year Treasury Note ticked…

Both stocks and bonds opened modestly higher this morning, but are down a bit to start the year. The S&P 500 is off .08%, the Dow is down .3% and the Nasdaq is down .6% so far in January. Long-term Treasury bonds are down about 2%, intermediate corporate bonds are off by about .7%, and…

Major US stock market indexes have fallen back in the New Year (Dow -.6%; S&P 500 -1.2%; Nasdaq -2.6%). This isn’t surprising given last quarter’s huge rally as well as seasonal tax-related selling. But I’m sure the news media will make much of it. We’re seeing the same trend in bonds. Last quarter falling interest…

Later today the Federal Reserve will announced results from its last policy meeting of the year. Will Fed Chair Powell declare victory over inflation and call an end to the interest rate tightening cycle? I think so. Data released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirmed Inflation continues to slow. The Consumer Price…

Stock & bond market rallies continued today. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all in the green. Interest rates continue to moderate and that’s fueling gains. We got a report showing low figures for unemployment insurance claims. But most of today’s optimism I think centered around company-specific announcements, some of which I’ve summarized below.…

Stocks opened mixed today, with the Nasdaq slightly higher but the Dow and S&P 500 a bit lower. The market could be forgiven for taking a breather, given the strong rally since October 27th. We’ve seen a lot of encouraging signs since then, such as a broadening of gains outside the Magnificent 7. Believe it…

Stocks opened mixed this morning (Down +255 points; S&P 500 -.15%). It could be that the month-long rally needs to take a breather. The VIX Index—used to measure fear among traders—has fallen off to a rather benign 13. I’d say most Wall Street firms feel a little better about things. Of course, the bond market…

Stocks and bonds opened higher this morning, reacting to a speech from Federal Reserve Governor Christ Waller. He suggested that if current trends in growth & inflation persist, the Fed won’t need to raise rates further. In other words, lower inflation gives the Fed room to “wait, watch and see how the economy evolves before…

Recent data show the economy is clearly slowing, but not enough to threaten recession. Whereas third quarter growth surged 4.9% from the prior quarter, it looks like the fourth quarter is tracking closer to 2%. That’s ok of course; the Federal Reserve’s long-run annual growth target is 2%. But softer business activity and consumer spending…