The Market in 2017 In what has been an unprecedented market since the end of the great recession in 2009, we had another positive quarter, with U.S. and international markets gaining just over 5%. Even bonds eked out a meager 0.8% return, despite slowly rising interest rates. We all love a rising stock market, and…
The Market in 2016 2016 was another good year for the market. U.S. stocks recorded an impressive 12.66% gain[1], international stocks went up 4.81%[2] and even bonds eked out a 2.53% positive return[3]. What makes this remarkable is that there have been almost 7 years since the market bottom in 2009 without a major correction,…
Presidential Election We are getting close to the end of one of the worst election run-ups in living memory. Fortunately, I try not listen to or watch much of the vitriol that is splashed on TV, online or the papers, but it is tough to avoid. What is the result of this election going to…
Brexit What is this Brexit that we have heard a lot about during the last couple of weeks? Britain voted on June 23 to EXIT the European Union. The immediate result was that stock markets immediately sold off and the US market lost 5.6% in 2 days. To put this in perspective, the US stock…
Happy spring! The weather has been unbelievably pleasant during this run up to summer – hope the wheel doesn’t fall off with a last freeze or two! The Market The market has recovered nicely after a bad start at the beginning of the year. Most indices are up during the first quarter, with the exception…
Here we go again – another panic on Wall Street. It is just over 4 months since the market had its last major swoon in August last year. On Friday the US stock market went down 2.1% and it has declined 8.48% since the beginning of the year. No one knows what the market will…
Hope the Holidays were good to you and yours. The Market: After the gung-ho last 6 years, in 2015 the market finally took a breather, essentially treading water, with international markets going down slightly[i]: US stock market +0.36% (Vanguard Total Stock Market, VTI) International Markets -4.18% (Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, VXUS) Bonds +0.56%…
The Market Since the market decline in August, the stock market has been bouncing around and is almost back to the levels at the beginning of the year. For the year to date the major indices are showing the following total returns[i]: US stock market -1.65% (Vanguard Total Stock Market VTI) International Markets -0.95% (Vanguard…
August 24 2015 Recent Stock Market Decline Over the last week, the markets have taken a beating. The overall US stock market has declined 9.9% since last Monday[1], which is in line with the overall international market which has gone down 9.7%[2]. The overall bond market held steady by going up 0.4%[3]. Let…
What is the Market Going to Do? Since the beginning of the year, the stock market has been treading water eking out a small gain of 5.94% (Vanguard Total World Stock ETF VT) and bonds are practically even at a 0.78% gain year-to-date (Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF BND). No one knows what the…