The eleven-year US bull market ended abruptly in March, yet another victim of the novel coronavirus. The US has responded with two significant steps: Congress has passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package (equal to 10% of the economy) and the Federal Reserve has made up to $4 trillion (18% of the economy) in liquidity to […]
Continue Reading ›February 2020 Economic Dashboard
Last month’s letter mentioned the coronavirus’ potential to infect global supply chains. February showed the risk materializing along with more widespread impacts on travel. The Federal Reserve’s 0.50% rate cut on March 3rd did little to assuage investors, highlighting the limitations of monetary policy tools in “treating” the virus. Nevertheless, consumers are enjoying the benefits […]
Continue Reading ›January 2020 Economic Dashboard
One month into 2020 and the market has already had two major unexpected events thrown its way. Stocks shrugged off US-Iran hostilities quickly but have encountered additional volatility during the recent coronavirus outbreak. We’ll leave the health debate to the virologists, but it is important to consider the economic implications for China, and more importantly, […]
Continue Reading ›December 2019 Economic Dashboard
The S&P 500 is coming off one of its best years of all-time, with a price return of 28.9%. An initial reaction might be to take gains in anticipation of a pullback. History tells us such a response would be unwise, as the market has performed well following big up years. The graph below shows […]
Continue Reading ›April 2019 Economic Dashboard
The stock market rally continued in April, with the Dow Jones 30 gaining 2.7% and the S&P 500 up 4.0%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ was the winner for the month with a gain of 4.7%. Better-than-expected corporate earnings in April, a decline in inflation pressures and an excellent GDP report late in the month were among […]
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