While September had been a bit sloppy, will further weakness in October weigh on investor sentiment before the seasonally strong period begins? As shown by the S&P 500 index seasonality chart below, weakness in the last two weeks of September and the first two weeks of October is common. However, we must also understand that the big down move in the market during that period came from historical crashes such as the “Financial Crisis” in 2008. Excluding those periods, the market still ten… View More
We have plenty of data reports to go, but, so far, the third quarter is shaping up to be a strong one for the US economy. The Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now model is tracking a Real GDP growth rate of 4.9% for Q3, which would be the fastest quarterly growth rate since the earlier part of the COVID recovery. Our models aren’t tracking quite so high but are projecting growth at about a 4.0% rate, still strong by the standards of the past couple of decades. However, we would not get too excited about … View More
The University of Colorado Buffaloes are undefeated and suck up a lot of oxygen in the college football world. After just three games as the new head coach, Deion Sanders was interviewed by 60 Minutes. For now, the Buffs have gone from irrelevant to essential in the college football world. In the competitive arena of sports or business you need to stand out to be noticed. But, when you’re the government, standing out isn’t hard to do. This week, the Federal Reserve is set to release a new s… View More
Stocks fell last week (S&P 500 -1.3%) as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ fell below their 50-day moving averages. The market’s mood was primarily defensive with investors focused on the renewed back up in interest rates, dollar strength, and the spike in oil prices. Positive sectors included energy (+1.4%) and utilities (+0.9%); underperformers included industrials (-2.9%) and materials (-2.5%). Source: Bob Doll Crossmark Investments Chart reflects price changes, not total retur… View More
Back in the 1980s, President Reagan took enormous political heat (Sam Donaldson comes to mind) for being fiscally irresponsible. His offense? Presiding over a budget deficit that peaked at 5.9% of GDP in Fiscal Year 1983. But at least Reagan had an excuse. Actually, multiple excuses. The unemployment rate averaged 10.1% in FY 1983, which pushed up spending, while reducing revenue. The Reagan tax cuts were phased-in, so many people pushed off income (and taxes) into future years. Finally, the US… View More