The markets are telling us that the Coronavirus situation and the aftermath of an economic slowdown is likely not going away any time soon. The evidence is in the “indiscriminate selling” of nearly every asset class:
What the Markets Are Telling Us
Tag: Stock Market
Special Edition: Now Russian Oil Is In the Mix
A couple of points of perspective to this very hectic open to the US stock markets:
- There are comparisons today and the past two weeks to the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The US stock markets were most volatile n Fridays and Mondays throughout late 2008 with financial institution failures that took place over or near weekends – Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers…and then Merrill Lynch.
Continue reading “Special Edition: Now Russian Oil Is In the Mix”
Hard Seltzer or Budweiser?
With this week’s fast and furious weakness in US and global stock markets – primarily based on spread of the Coronavirus – the next “shoe to fall” likely will be slower short-term economic growth in parts of the US and definitely longer, more pronounced slow-downs in China. These types of slowdowns do happen as a part of market cycles. This situation also got me to thinking about how economic slowdowns, often over decades, have benefited beer and alcohol sales.
Not-So-Fat Tuesday
Originally titled, “Gut Check in Rocky Markets” but with a new twist the following excerpted edition from the archives of TGIF 2 Minutes is timely on (Not So) Fat Tuesday. Please keep in mind three new factors:
- The political divide currently in the US is adding to market tensions and even politicizing the Coronavirus,
- Primary Elections and Debates and the policy issues being brought forth are next-to-center stage in the media,
- A still very recent UP 29% equity market in 2019,
and there exist the makings of a potential market correction. A market correction is defined as a decline of 10% from a recent high; the US equity markets are down over 6% in two days and are nearing an official “market correction” in 2020.
Gut Check (Again) In Rocky Markets
From the archives of TGIF 2 Minutes comes a very handy message – one that still holds true 5 years later:
August 2014:
Have you asked yourself lately…
- “Is this the ‘Big Dip’ in the markets they have warned about?”
- “Should I be selling my stocks?”
- “Should I be selling my bonds?”
Although I stress to clients and friends NOT to listen to the Talking Heads on TV, radio & internet amidst dramatic market moves —and then make rash investment decisions – we are human! It is nearly impossible to ignore completely what is going on daily in the news and markets. And the stock markets have crept down a bit over the past few weeks. (Note, in 2019 the downturns and recoveries have been often.) Continue reading “Gut Check (Again) In Rocky Markets”
The Year Ahead
Where do we stand going into the Year Ahead?
It is always helpful to define where stand today and understand a few points about how we got here. So as a sequel to my last post, here are a handful of data points about today’s economy and market stats from the recent past. Several of these may surprise you.
Perspective & Thoughts at the End of a Volatile Year
Good morning on a Saturday,
And not just any Saturday. The Saturday just 3 days before Christmas! And, the Saturday following a week of sharp stock market declines and abrupt political events. In fact, a Saturday capping off an entire year of unfamiliar volatility and weakness in the stock market.
I took an extra day this week (TGIF +1) to check the path of stock markets year-to-date to present perspective and a few encouraging thoughts: Continue reading “Perspective & Thoughts at the End of a Volatile Year”
Market Volatility & the Fighting Irish
You may laugh, but most of my readers know that I hail from the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish. I fully realize that there is not a lot of in-between with “ND”: people either love them or hate them. Regardless, a thought occurred to me this week – a short thought that I believe critical to the mindset of investing.
As most of you know, and several may not, Notre Dame is undefeated in football so far this year at 10-0. Or as we Fighting Irish refer to it, “uNDefeated“. This past week, in a conversation with an insightful college football observer, it was pointed out to me that “you ND fans don’t care about anything except Notre Dame… you don’t seem to know or care about what else is going on around you or with other schools in the poll“. He couldn’t have hit the nail any closer to the center of the head. Continue reading “Market Volatility & the Fighting Irish”
14 Numbers that May Surprise You
This is a re-run of a TGIF 2 Minutes article that appeared in May 2018, with a few updates.
The following are from a recent article in the Journal of Financial Planning* – and they are not snoozers! In fact, several truly surprised me. Check ’em out. All from formal surveys.
Gut Check in Rocky Markets
After the recent mid-week big down moves in the US and global stock markets AND if you are a long-time reader of TGIF 2 Minutes you are most likely expecting a “stay the course” message today.
The bottom line is: Stay the course. Technically you can stop reading here and go onto your Friday and weekend. How about that for a record 15 second edition??!
Here is the remaining 1 minute and 45 second version: