Despite April’s continuing trend of mostly weaker U.S. economic data – which may or may not still be attributed to the weather – positive fund flows have kept most global equity indices in the green, not due to investor conviction but as a result of seeing few alternatives to stocks. Investor sentiment readings have become more neutral as investors ponder what pace of economic growth will be required to justify current stock valuations. Clearly the jury is still out…
Three items have played havoc with markets year to date: weather, falling inflation and disappointing capital spending. The weather speaks for itself, and is uncorrelated to the other two variables; hence markets are likely to give most companies a “free pass”…
After putting in a short term trading bottom with the delicacy of a thud on February 1st, a day the S&P fell 2.2%, a number of reasons explain the strong equity rally during the remainder of the month...
There are few things in this world more humbling than the stock market. You read, analyze, think, ponder scenarios, reach your conclusion and then reposition the portfolio with the hope it’s structured to withstand downdrafts without having hedged out all the upside...