The End of the Beginning

April 20, 2020

  The equity markets put together back-to-back winning weeks as the economy and COVID-19 news is less worse than it was potentially forecast to be just a few weeks ago. The curve appears to be flattening on COVID, select parts of the U.S. are set to be opened this month, and most of the early …

Looking Under the Hood

April 13, 2020

  Global equity markets had a strong recovery rally last week as scenarios begin to firm up of when the COVID-19 peaks in various countries and the global economy begins to re-open.  While the social and economic recovery is likely to last several months or longer, the financial markets tend to anticipate outcomes and a …

Waiting on Normal

April 6, 2020

  The equity market gave back some of its recent gains last week, but volatility also decreased which we view as a welcome signal relative to the higher levels of volatility we’ve seen over the past few weeks.  Uncertain timing on a return to normalcy in society and the economy is likely to weigh on …

Bridging the Gap

March 30, 2020

  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives and was signed by the President on Friday.  If uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus was centered on the two unknowns of the infection itself and what the government was doing about it, …

Taking Action

March 23, 2020

  As the measures taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) are beginning to take a toll on the economy through a reduction in activity in travel, dining, entertainment and other consumer spending categories, the U.S. government has been formulating ways to help stem the economic impact on both consumers and businesses. Two …

March Madness

March 16, 2020

  Uncertainty over the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to negatively impact markets. The declaration of a national emergency on Friday allows coordinated action and financial resources to be used to shore up the economy and provide assistance to public health organizations. In our Dissecting Headlines section, we look at the national emergency …

Silver Linings

March 9, 2020

  As markets continue to experience volatility amid economic concerns from the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we want to look at counterbalancing effects we are seeing to stabilize the economy. We mentioned last week we believe the economy should self-correct over time.  While 10-year Treasury yields have fallen, the Federal Reserve also made the …

Keeping Perspective

March 2, 2020

  Global equity markets had their worst week in several years last week. The weekly decline, due to economic concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), has pulled all major stock indices into negative territory for the year. Market volatility, which included several large intra-day swings, is indicative of the uncertainty. In our Dissecting …

Risk On / Risk Off

February 24, 2020

  Continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) led stocks to the downside late last week. News of the virus also spreading outside of China to countries such as Italy has brought additional concern to investors trying to understand the potential economic impact of the outbreak. We view the issue as transitory. While the first quarter …