The New Trade War: Lessons from 2018-2020 and What’s Next
By John Lau March 6, 2025 – Trade policies don’t always make headlines, but when they do, it’s usually because they’re creating disruptions. With tariffs expanding and global trade relationships shifting, the current landscape demands a closer look. Recent developments have introduced significant uncertainties for businesses, investors, and policymakers, and I felt it was important […]
Client Testimonials – John Lau, CPA, CFP®
Testimonials provided by current clients of Robertson Stephens. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other customers and are no guarantee of future performance or success. “When reflecting upon the lives and circumstances of others, I feel a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for coming across a John Lau seminar in 2017 at […]
Is the U.S. economy losing momentum?
By John Lau February 28, 2025 – One of the main reasons stocks have declined over the past week is due to concerns that the U.S. economy is losing momentum, and much of the concern is coming from weak sentiment surveys vis-a-vis hard economic data. So, do other market metrics echo these growth concerns? To […]
What Would Cause the Fed to Cut Rates Again?
By John Lau January 31, 2025 – On Wednesday, the Fed made no change to interest rates, as expected. Turning to Powell’s press conference, I do think the Fed used the meeting to convey that unless inflation declines further or growth rolls over, rates aren’t declining anytime soon. From a market standpoint, the net impact […]
Solid Economic Growth and Rate Cuts Power Stocks in 2024
By John Lau January 2, 2025 – The S&P 500 extended 2024 gains as the election results raised expectations for tax cuts and other pro-growth policies in 2025, while the economy remained on solid footing and the Fed continued to cut interest rates. The S&P 500 logged a modestly positive return for the fourth quarter […]
Trump’s Political “Tape Bombs” and the Santa Claus Rally
By John Lau December 2, 2024 – On Monday last week, after the close, President-elect Trump dropped a political “tape bomb” by threatening to levy 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico and add an additional 10% tariff on China. The impact of the threat didn’t push the S&P 500 lower, but it did cause a […]
Why The Next Two Weeks Are So Important…
By John Lau November 4, 2024 – It is not an exaggeration to say that the next two weeks could likely determine if stocks hold (or even extend) the YTD gains or if volatility resurfaces and we have a tumultuous end to what has been, so far, a good year in the markets. This is […]
Demand Your Client Bill of Rights
The Essential Questions You Should Ask ANY Financial Advisor (Even if You’re ALREADY a Client) John Lau, CPA, CFP® Evaluating financial advisors isn’t easy. “Do I need a fiduciary?” “Do I need an advisor or a planner? Or both?” “How much is it going to cost me?” The questions can seem endless, and that leads […]
Fed Rate Cuts and Solid Earnings Overcome Rising Economic Anxiety
By John Lau October 1, 2024 – Markets were volatile in the third quarter as investors faced political turmoil and a slowing of the economy, but the return of Fed rate cuts and solid corporate earnings helped to offset those political and economic anxieties, and the S&P 500 hit another new all-time high and finished […]
The Rotation from tech to the “rest” of the market continued
By John Lau September 2, 2024 – The rotation from tech to the “rest” of the market continued apace last week as traders used initial tech weakness as a profit taking opportunity. On a sector level, there was a clear cyclical preference as the solid GDP (Q2 GDP rose 3.0% saar[1] vs. (E) 2.8% saar) […]
What the Fed Decision Means
By John Lau August 1, 2024 – The Fed met dovish expectations yesterday and reinforced one of the key supports for the 2024 rally: the idea of looming rate cuts. Powell all but said a September rate cut was coming and also (and importantly) floated the idea that the Fed could cut “several” times in […]
Quarterly Insights – July 2024: More New Highs for the S&P 500 in Q2
By John Lau July 1, 2024 – The S&P 500 experienced its first real dose of volatility early in the second quarter, but expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, solid economic growth and continued strong financial performance from AI-related tech companies ultimately pushed the S&P 500 to new all-time highs and the […]