The Privilege of Grin & Bear
May 22, 2023 Good morning, With about a week to go to the debt-ceiling deadline, negotiations in D.C. are sucking up all the market’s attention this week. No one knows the path of this process, but most believe it will end with a can-kicked-down-the-road. The only question is whether there is real default risk and […]
An Irish Contrarian
May 17, 2023 Good morning, Perhaps it’s the Irish in me, but I am not a big fan of calm. I’m always looking over my shoulder for the storm it likely precedes. Stocks are stuck in one of the dullest trading environments in years, with traders seeming reluctant to make big bets ahead of a […]
Week Ahead
May 15, 2023 Good morning, Inflation does not indicate it is confidently marching lower. Friday’s surge in the University of Michigan’s initial May reading of long-term inflation expectations jumps the odds of a June rate hike. Even if Fed policymakers really don’t want to raise rates again, they won’t ignore this alarming data point. In […]
Clock Ticking Toward …
May 12, 2023 Good morning, Recall last fall’s broad consensus among economists and market strategists of a recession in the first half of this year. That message was the primary driver of last year’s equity market decline. The big surprise this year is the economy’s resilience and the market backing out the recession discount by […]
CPI Done – Debt Ceiling Next
May 10, 2023 Good morning, The CPI (Consumer Price Index) takes center stage this morning (8:30 am ET), and while it remains the key inflation data point, there is not quite the same importance today as it has been through much of the tightening cycle (15 mo.). Last week, the Fed indicated that the bar […]
No Change Despite Friday’s Spike UP
May 8, 2023 Good morning, The S&P 500 (SPX) saw a sizeable jump on Friday (+1.84%). The employment numbers were mixed and were viewed positively and negatively by bulls and bears, respectively – more noise than anything else. Pressure came off the regional banks on Friday, and while by itself that would not be enough […]
Few Surprises
May 5, 2023 Good morning, Payrolls Friday begins this morning in an upbeat mood thanks to some decent earnings numbers (AAPL), a bounce in some of the regional bank stocks hit earlier this week, and after four straight down days for the S&P 500 Index (-2.6% this week), maybe some short covering profit-taking. Futures were […]
IRS Rules Against A Tax Tactic For Irrevocable Grantor Trusts
May 1, 2023 – Principal and Managing Director, Frank Corrado was featured in Financial Advisor Magazine to discuss ‘IRS Rules Against A Tax Tactic For Irrevocable Grantor Trusts.’ “‘Revenue Rulings are not binding on any federal court, including the Tax Court, as they represent arguments of one party,’ said Corrado. Nevertheless, tax-sensitive clients might explore […]
Live: Fear vs Greed
May 3, 2023 Good morning, Fears of further fragility in the regional bank sector calmed on Monday as JPMorgan cleared the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history from the market’s collective consciousness. And investors returned their focus to the Fed decision later this week. The calm lasted for a few hours. Rumblings of other […]
Let’s Not Get Sucked In
May 1 , 2023 Good morning, The big news headline this morning is the JPMorgan rescue takeover of First Republic Bank. The big event this week is Wednesday afternoon’s Fed decision on rates now and hopefully insights into the tightening cycle in the months ahead. Do you see the contradiction there? In a week where […]
That May Have Been An Exaggeration
April 28, 2023 Good morning, U.S. equities put in a strong day yesterday with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) gaining +1.96% and the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite advancing +2.8%. News agencies attributed the big jump in the indexes to the earnings beat by Meta Platforms (formerly named FaceBook), which was up +15% on the day. […]
How to buy I bonds
April 27, 2023 – Principal and Managing Director, Danny Rozansky was featured in SF Gate to discuss ‘How to buy I bonds.’ “Because you must buy I bonds yourself, this decreases their attractiveness to some investors who want to consolidate their investments,” Rozansky notes. “If you do buy I bonds, it’s important to alert your […]