In the last several weeks, we have continued to face elevated uncertainty in financial markets due to high inflation and rising interest rates, and we thought it was an important time to take stock with the final quarter of 2022 just ahead. It has been a difficult year, not only for investors but also [...]
Like most financial markets, preferred securities have generated negative returns so far this year, however the value proposition remains. Preferreds offer generous yields, both absolute and after-tax, with their high income stream serving as a total return buffer against future spread volatility. “Preferred securities can be higher yielding alternatives to traditional core fixed income [...]
Earnings Season Ends With a Whimper - Where will stock market go from here? Mixed results from mostly retailers, pushed S&P 500 earnings growth down from 6.4% to 6.3% last week, though that growth rate is still 2.2 percentage points above the June 30 estimate. Energy, healthcare, and utilities have produced the biggest upside [...]
Weekly new jobless claims were reported this morning, and to no one’s surprise they rose to levels thought unimaginable just a few weeks ago. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, 3.3 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending March 21, almost 5 times the previous high of [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented volatility in recent weeks that has investors and traders scrambling to assess the economic and market impact of the aggressive containment measures. This past week the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures the implied 30-day volatility of the S&P 500 Index based on options contracts, measured its highest reading [...]
The incredible volatility continues, with the S&P 500 Index now in one of its worst bear markets ever, along the way making the quickest move from an all-time high to down 30% at only 22 days. What is a long-term investor to do? “Although market timing is very alluring to investors, especially after the past [...]
As COVID-19-related fear continues grip global financial markets, we wanted to take a closer look at factor #1 in our Road to Recovery Playbook: confidence in the timing of a peak of new COVID-19 cases in the United States. This is probably the most difficult signal in the playbook to call with any degree of [...]
Policy makers in Washington, DC, worked over the weekend to try to put the finishing touches on a significant stimulus package to help cushion the economic and financial blow being delivered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve (Fed) is “all in” already. After Monday’s announcement, which we will discuss in another post , it is fair [...]
Over the past few weeks, investors may have been introduced to a new term they weren’t previously familiar with: circuit breakers. Today, we answer a few simple questions about circuit breakers: What is a circuit break? A circuit breaker is a built-in temporary halt or momentary pause in trading in the stock market. What are the [...]
“At LPL Research, as we look forward to the year 2020 and a new decade, some key trends and market signals will be important to watch, including progress on U.S.-China trade discussions, an encouraging outlook from corporate America, and continued strength in consumer spending. Trade risk, slower global growth, and the impeachment inquiry have garnered [...]
