Investment Commentary – April 15, 2015 (Tax day) Dow – 18,036.70 (4/14/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,095.84 (4/14/15 close) NASDAQ -4,977.29 (4/14/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.90% (4/14/15 close) S&P 500 1st quarter earnings season kicked off last Wednesday. Estimates have been significantly revised down over the quarter due to continued U.S. dollar strength and [...]
Investment Commentary – April 8, 2015 Dow – 17,875.42 (4/7/15 close) (+0.29% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,076.33 (4/7/15 close) (+0.83% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 1.89% (4/7/15 close) (-12.9% YTD) The March jobs report last Friday was a disappointment. The number of jobs grew by a mere 126k, versus economists’ consensus expectation of almost twice that [...]
Investment Commentary – April 1, 2015 Dow – 17,776.12 (3/31/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,067.89 (3/31/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.93% (3/31/15 close) Stocks tumbled yesterday and gave back some of the gains from the previous 2 sessions as Wall Street closed out a volatile 1st quarter with mixed results. The volatile 1st quarter saw [...]
Investment Commentary – March 25, 2015 Dow – 17,718.54 (3/25/15 close) (-.0.55% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,061.05 (3/25/15 close) (0.10% YTD) NASDAQ – 4,876.52 (3/25/15 close) (2.96% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 1.92% (3/25/15 close) (-11.52% YTD) U.S. stocks plunged today, closing more than 1% lower as investors weighed the impact of the strong dollar on [...]
Investment Commentary – March 19, 2015 Dow – 18,076.19 (3/18/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,099.42 (3/18/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,982.83 (3/18/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.95% (3/18/15 close) The Federal Reserve today set the stage for its 1st interest rate hike since 2006 signaling its confidence in the U.S. economy. Yet the Fed slightly downgraded [...]
Investment Commentary – March 11, 2015 Dow – 17,662.94 (3/10/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,044.16 (3/10/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,859.79 (3/10/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.13% (3/10/15 close) February’s jobs report last Friday confirmed the strength in the U.S. labor market. New jobs numbered 295,000, well above expectations, with gains particularly evident in cyclical sectors. [...]
Investment Commentary – March 3, 2015 Dow – 18,288.63 (3/2/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,117.39 (3/3/15 close) NASDAQ – 5,008.10 (3/2/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.08% (3/2/15 close) U.S. equities were largely unchanged last week in what was a relatively quiet 5 days, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index continued to push toward a new [...]
Investment Commentary – February 25, 2015 Dow – 18,209.19 (2/24/15 close) S&P 500 – 2,115.48 (2/24/15 close) Nasdaq – 4,968.12 (2/24/15 close) 10-year Treasury – 1.99% (2/24/15 close) Fed Chair Janet Yellen provided Congress yesterday with an upbeat view of the labor market and said policymakers will raise interest rates when they are “reasonably confident” [...]
Investment Commentary – February 18, 2015 Dow – 18,047.58 (2/17/15 close) (1.26% YTD) S&P 500 – 2,100.34 (2/17/15 close) (1.99% YTD) NASDAQ – 4,899.27 (2/17/15 close) (3.44% YTD) 10-year Treasury – 2.14% (2/17/15 close) (-1.38% YTD) Stocks continued to advance last week and are now ahead of bonds for the year. On a global basis, [...]
Investment Commentary - February 11th, 2015 Dow - 17,868.76 (2/10/15 close) S&P 500 - 2,068.59 (2/10/15 close) 10 year Treasury - 1.99% (2/10/15 close) S&P 500 volatility has remained elevated in the first 6 weeks of 2015 as investors react to uncertainty around the Fed, major oil price swings and disappointing S&P 500 earnings. Interestingly, [...]