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The Markets Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Warsh shakes the market's confidence. Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke has said that "monetary policy is 98 percent talk and only 2 percent action.” He meant that public statements are powerful tools that can shape the market’s expectations around future Fed actions. That proved true last week, when the Fed appeared to lose credibility during a relatively brief press conference held by its new Chair Kevin Warsh. The Fed did what markets expected, but the new Chair did not The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met last week to determine a path for interest [...]

The Markets Sometimes, the road is rough. In the early 1900s, riding in new-fangled automobiles was a bone-jarring and physically exhausting experience. Roads were unpaved and rutted, jolting passengers relentlessly. Shock absorbers changed that. Working in tandem with the spring suspension, they made the ride a lot smoother. A two-part system smooths the ride for investors, too. It includes asset allocation and diversification. Asset allocation can help smooth portfolio volatility. In recent years, stock markets have experienced significant volatility because of “systematic risks”, which include events that affect the economy and financial markets. Systematic risks can be changes in [...]

The Markets Rethinking expectations for inflation and artificial intelligence (AI). It was a rough week for Wall Street. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) fell about 1.5 percent, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.8 percent, and the Dow posted its weakest weekly performance since late March, reported Naomi Buchanan of Barron’s. Here’s what happened: Price increases slowed. The week started with encouraging news. Price pressures eased in June, in part because of lower energy costs, according to the Consumer Price Index report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation was up just 3.5 percent year over year [...]

The Markets America's wealth looks different than it did just a couple of generations ago. A lot has changed since 1989. Back then, there were no smartphones or streaming services. There wasn’t an app for anything. The first digital camera arrived the previous year, and the first handheld global positioning system (GPS) became available in 1989. While technology began reshaping everyday life, another change began unfolding, too. Between 1989 and 2022, after adjusting for inflation, the wealth held by families in the United States almost quadrupled. It rose from $52 trillion (in 2022 dollars) to $199 trillion, according to [...]

The Markets The market spent the first half of 2026 floating like a butterfly. The market slipped every punch during the first six months of 2026, and there were a lot of them: the Iran War, gyrating oil prices, rising inflation, changed interest rate expectations, employment concerns, and mounting national debt. Each issue stepped into the ring swinging and, while the market staggered occasionally, it recovered every time. Teresa Rivas of Barron’s reported, “Bolstered by double-digit earnings growth, 2Q was the best quarter for the S&P 500 since the second quarter of 2020, and [we saw] the best first half [...]

The Markets Lowering inflation may prove to be a challenge. Last week, inflation was on the minds of investors after one of the Federal Reserve (Fed)’s favorite inflation gauges showed inflation at a three-year high. Both headline and core inflation were well above the Fed’s two percent target. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index May 2026 Price Increase (year over year) Headline inflation + 4.1 percent Core inflation (excludes volatile food and energy prices) +3.4 percent   This was the third consecutive month of accelerating price increases, reported Megan Leonhardt of Barron’s. Prices have been rising, in part, due to the [...]

The Markets Americans hope for a peace dividend – lower prices. Last week, President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. Stock and bond markets welcomed the news. “Investors are hopeful the 14-point framework will lead to the Strait of Hormuz reopening, which could drag down oil prices and help tame inflation,” reported George Glover of Barron’s. It will take time for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume and inflation to ease. Some of the challenges include: Building confidence the peace will hold, Clearing mines from shipping lanes, and Restarting production and refining [...]

The Markets Markets rarely move in a straight line. Investors had a lot to consider last week. Rising inflation, interest rate uncertainty, and ongoing conflict in the Middle East weighed on markets. Yet stocks finished the week higher amid hopes for peace, enthusiasm for a stock launch, and improved consumer sentiment. Here’s a recap: • Consumer prices rose. The Consumer Price Index showed inflation accelerating to its fastest annual pace in more than three years. Inflation was up 4.2 percent year over year in May. Rising prices remain a challenge for households and continue to complicate the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) [...]

The Markets There was some good news and some bad news last week. Let’s start with the good news: Employment gains exceeded expectations last month. Employers in the United States added 172,000 new jobs in May, similar to April’s 179,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3 percent, the average work-week length was about 34 hours, and wages rose. “The strong payroll growth, steady unemployment rate, and broad-based job gains are unambiguously good news, but Friday's data did show the labor market still has some weak spots…Those who are out of work are also still finding it [...]

The Markets It was a record-setting month. “Sell in May and Go Away” was an investment strategy promoted by the Stock Trader's Almanac. The idea was based on historic research that suggested holding stocks, as represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow), from November to April delivered better returns than holding stocks all year round. “What [the research] didn't note is that if one used the S&P 500 index, which dates to 1927, one would have found the opposite: the summers almost always outperformed the winters,” reported Troy Segal of Investopedia. This year, most investors were happy with stock [...]