Archive for July 2024

The political implications of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump dominated U.S. financial markets last week. The market priced in an Election Day victory for the Republican Party. Several market sectors, including financial services, industrials and energy, were projected to be the beneficiaries of a second Trump administration’s “America first” trade…

We are watching stock markets closely today as they react to the tragic events in Pennsylvania over the weekend. At this early juncture, it’s unclear how markets will react over the longer term and it’s still a long way to Election Day in November. We will, of course, continue to stay on top of how…

When we look at the investment environment at the midpoint of 2024, we see two main trends. First, markets have now priced in the impact of fewer than expected Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Second, equity valuations are expensive overall but could be justified by the underlying solid strength of the U.S. economy. Looking in…

During the holiday-shortened trading week all eyes were on July 5 job report and its implications for monetary policy. For the second month in a row, the U.S. employment report sent mixed signals about the economy. On the one hand, the 206,000 headline number for the increase in non-farm payroll during June was slightly higher…

Monday reflections U.S. markets are finishing on a strong note for the first half of 2024. The S&P 500 Index is up nearly 15%, led by the enthusiasm around developing artificial intelligence technology. Market participants were unmoved by the unofficial launch of the presidential campaign, focusing instead on the continuing debate over the path of…