Category: Markets

  • Skating through the latest uncertainty

    By Kyle Tetting Amid strong returns through July, investors have finally felt weakness in the past couple of months as the looming shutdown returned uncertainty to the economic outlook. Taking a pause in the run-up is healthy, allowing investors to reassess positioning. But it also challenges investors who benefitted from heavier equity exposure earlier in…

  • Implementing data, cultivating outlook

    weather vane

    “Some of the most rewarding periods for investors have come alongside the need for meaningful problem solving.”

  • How to respond to the calm of summer

    By Kyle Tetting The summer of 2022 may have conditioned investors to expect more volatility. Absent the shocking inflation numbers of last June, it’s difficult to match the market movements we saw a year ago. But it’s also clear that the economic landscape now appears much less uncertain. […]

  • Halfway through 2023, outlook improving

    By Kyle Tetting Reasonable caution is always appropriate, but investors too focused on the risks missed out on a lot across the first six months of 2023. […]

  • Positive signs amid “wall of worry”

    By Kyle Tetting It’s hard to argue with the year-to-date success of the vast majority of investment categories. As I write this on April 26, broad measures of stocks like the S&P 500 had gained more than 6% with only a few trading days left in April. Similarly, less volatile measures like bonds have added…

  • Seeing blue sky through cloudy forecasts

    By Kyle Tetting Especially with the unknown timing and magnitude of the Federal Reserve’s remaining steps to fight inflation, long-term optimism can get overlooked. […]

  • Staying the course is not staying still

    By Kyle Tetting Stock prices move quickly, but fundamentals change slowly. These day-to-day price movements are largely a popularity contest while long-term market direction is a math lesson. Expectations for continued strong earnings growth point to meaningful opportunities for stocks ahead as stock prices tend to mirror that longer-term earnings growth. Patience remains the challenge,…

  • Pessimism could send a contrary signal

    By Kyle Tetting Economists at Yale University’s decades-long confidence surveys ask investors what they believe the probability is of a “catastrophic stock market crash in the U.S. in the next six months.” Individual investors were as pessimistic as ever in August, according to survey data. The most recent report shows little improvement. […]

  • Retirees: How to handle stock sell-offs

    Gyrations in the stock market can play havoc with investors’ emotions and lead to impulsive moves. In a MONEY TALK VIDEO, Dave Sandstrom explains why investors should not let short-term market volatility disrupt important retirement decisions but instead rely on balanced investment portfolios and prudent withdrawal plans. […]

  • Volatility: What to watch for and why

    After a six-month lull, volatility riled the stock market again in October. Prices on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose or fell more than 1% in 10 of the month’s 22 trading days. While heightened activity can be disconcerting, it’s par for the course from time to time and reminds investors to balance their…