Insights

Price Return Last Week S&P 500   +1.1%   S&P Mid Cap     +1.2%       Russell 2000     +0.7%   MSCI EAFE +0.8%       MSCI EM +0.8%    10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.06% to 4.09% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Tariffs – On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that many of President Trump’s recently implemented tariffs were unconstitutional.  All tariffs tied to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were struck do

Price Return Last Week S&P 500   (0.1%)   S&P Mid Cap     +4.4%       Russell 2000     +2.2%   MSCI EAFE +0.5%       MSCI EM (1.4%)     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.24% to 4.21% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Earnings Update – As of Friday, 59% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 2025 earnings results. The blended earnings growth rate thus far is 13.0% year-over-year, making this the fifth consecutive quarter with a double-digit earnings growth rate i

Price Return Last Week S&P 500   +0.3%   S&P Mid Cap     (1.4%)       Russell 2000     (2.1%)   MSCI EAFE +1.6%       MSCI EM +1.8%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – unchanged at 4.24% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Fed Chair Nomination – President Trump announced on Friday that he had chosen former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve following the end of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term in May.  While Warsh has historically been known as so

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 (0.4%)   S&P Mid Cap     (0.6%)       Russell 2000     (0.3%)   MSCI EAFE    +0.1%       MSCI EM +1.1%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.23% to 4.24% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Greenland – President Trump announced new tariffs on several European countries in an effort to pressure Denmark to sell Greenland to the U.S.  The tariffs were set to start at 10% and increase to 25% on June 1 if a deal was not reached.  Trump sta

Just 2 short weeks ago, we sent out a letter discussing how 2025 was the Year of Perpetual Change with at least 7 different major government policy events acting to delay corporate and consumer decision making and effectively stunting economic growth.   As we make our way into the office this morning, 2026 has started in a similar vein. Today’s distraction revolves around Greenland and the full force push to bring it under U.S control. Hopefully, this turns out to be a simila

2025 will go down as the Year of Perpetual Change . Throughout the year, consumers and corporations were forced to digest an onslaught of uncertainty stemming from significant shifts in federal policy.   In (mostly) chronological order, these changes included:   ·         The creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ·         The introduction of a high tariff regime ·         A subsequent move to a more modest tariff strategy ·         Changes in immigration

2025 Year in Review   2025 will go down as the Year of Perpetual Change . Throughout the year, consumers and corporations were forced to digest an onslaught of uncertainty stemming from significant shifts in federal policy.   In (mostly) chronological order, these changes included: a)      The creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) b)      The introduction of a high tariff regime c)       A subsequent move to a more modest tariff strategy d)      Changes i

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 (1.0%)   S&P Mid Cap    (0.7%)       Russell 2000    (1.0%)     MSCI EAFE    +0.5%       MSCI EM +2.3%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.13% to 4.19% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Venezuelan President Removed From Power – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured on Saturday by the U.S. military and transported to a federal jail in New York.  Both are awaiting trial for narcoterrorism charges.  While ini

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +1.4%    S&P Mid Cap     +0.7%       Russell 2000     +0.2%     MSCI EAFE    +1.2%       MSCI EM +2.1%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.15% to 4.13% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News GDP – Q3: 4.3% (Reuters Poll est. 3.3%) Q2: 3.8% Economic growth in the third quarter surpassed expectations, growing at its fastest rate in two years.  Consumer spending, exports, and government expenditures all accelerated in the third quarter le

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +0.1%    S&P Mid Cap     0.0%       Russell 2000      (0.8%)      MSCI EAFE    +0.2%       MSCI EM (1.5%)        10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.20% to 4.15% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Jobs Report – Nov: 64k (Reuters Poll est. 50k) Oct: -105k After a long delay due to the government shutdown, the Labor Department released jobs data for October and November on Tuesday.  The reports showed that payrolls were down 105,000 jobs

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 (0.6%)    S&P Mid Cap     +0.9%      Russell 2000      +1.2%     MSCI EAFE    +0.9%       MSCI EM +0.4%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.14% to 4.20% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Fed Cuts Rates – The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 to lower interest rates by 0.25%.  This brings the federal-funds rate to a range of 3.5-3.75%, a three-year low.  Of the three dissenters, two voted to keep rates the same and one voted

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +0.4%    S&P Mid Cap     +0.4%      Russell 2000      +0.9%     MSCI EAFE    +0.8%       MSCI EM +1.4%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.02% to 4.14% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Core PCE – Sep: 0.2% (Reuters Poll est. 0.2%) Oct: 0.2% After a delay extending over a month due to the government shutdown, core inflation data was released for the month of September.  Results were in-line with estimates and put the 12-month incr

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +3.7%    S&P Mid Cap     +3.9%      Russell 2000      +5.6%     MSCI EAFE    +3.3%       MSCI EM +2.5%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.06% to 4.02% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Jobs Report – Sep: 119k (Reuters Poll est. 50k) Aug: -4k After being delayed over 6 weeks due to the government shutdown, the Labor Department reported that payrolls rose by 119,000 jobs in September.  This was partially offset by a reduction in th

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +0.1%    S&P Mid Cap     (1.2%)      Russell 2000      (1.8%)     MSCI EAFE    +1.7%       MSCI EM +0.3%     10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.10% to 4.15% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Government Shutdown Ends – After 43 days, President Trump signed a bill to reopen the government.  The spending bill will extend funding for the federal government through January 30 in addition to full-year funding for the Agriculture Department

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +1.7%    S&P Mid Cap     +2.0%       Russell 2000     +2.4%     MSCI EAFE   +0.7%         MSCI EM  (0.3%)    10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.05% to 4.01% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News Banks Stocks Fall – The KBW Regional Banking Index fell 2% during the course of the week as surprise bankruptcies from two auto-related companies caused losses in several banks.  Additional concerns at a private equity firm caused losses at two s

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 (2.4%)    S&P Mid Cap    (3.9%)      Russell 2000    (3.3%)    MSCI EAFE  (1.9%)        MSCI EM  (0.6%)    10 Yr US Treasury Rate – fell from 4.12% to 4.05% Source: Refinitiv Eikon Recent News China Implements Rare-Earth Trade Limits – China’s Commerce Ministry announced on Thursday a new policy requiring all foreign suppliers to obtain government approval before exporting products with rare-earth minerals.  Additional restrictions will

Much has been written about the outperformance of technology stocks in the past several years, with those companies related to artificial...

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +1.1%    S&P Mid Cap   +0.7%   Russell 2000   +1.7%   MSCI EAFE +2.5%     MSCI EM +3.6% 10 Yr US...

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 (0.3%)    S&P Mid Cap   (0.5%)     Russell 2000   (0.6%)      MSCI EAFE (0.4%)     MSCI EM (1.1%)...

Price Return Last Week S&P 500 +1.2%    S&P Mid Cap   +0.1%     Russell 2000   +2.2%      MSCI EAFE (0.2%)     MSCI EM +1.2%   ...