Kloubuchar, Kamala, and Kirsten are in. So are Beto and Bernie, and Biden apparently privately has told close associates he is too. The roster of Democrats vying for the right to challenge President Donald Trump for the White House next November is growing by the week.
For many years, the prevailing advisory remuneration model has led financial advisors to look at just one variable – investable assets – when deciding whether or not to work with a client.
Dirk Hofschire, CFA, senior vice president, asset allocation research, and Lisa Emsbo-Mattingly, director of asset allocation research, assess key factors influencing the outlook for both the U.S. and the global economy as of March 2019.
A hallmark of the Great Recession was a decline in the prime age labor force participation rate from 83% to 80%, see the chart below. While a three-point drop might not seem significant, it reflects millions of Americans walking away from the economy, giving up on ever finding gainful employment.
While we confirm our current positioning of being overweight risk assets, there is one thing the Fed could do this week to further reinforce our outlook for growth. CIO Bob Browne explains.
U.S. Treasury rates declined modestly last week, led by 10-year maturities and followed by 5- and 2- year yields. Markets focused on deteriorating Brexit negotiations and mixed U.S. economic data. Markets expect no policy changes when the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meets this week.
The United States has always had a difficult, complicated relationship with the concept of central banks. Early on, critics sought to prevent the establishment of a US central bank, while today, politicians in the US and around the world seek to use central banks as tools to further their policy aims. In my view, central bank independence is critical to their ability to counteract the economic effects of geopolitical chaos.
Risk appetite has rebounded in 2019. Equities and other risk assets have performed well, just as various gauges show improving sentiment across markets. We remain modestly and selectively overweight equities – and moderately pro-risk in general – but would caution against expectations for the early-2019 rally to roar on.
Despite a lack of major positive headlines or key catalysts, markets jumped last week after a temporary soft patch. The S&P 500 Index was up 3%, with broad strength across the board.
The indefatigable bull market may be a pleasant surprise to some, but certainly a nagging disappointment to perennial bears. For the ardent bulls, its elasticity is without precedent and very rewarding for those with the conviction to stay the course through periods of heightened volatility.
On the latest edition of Market Week in Review, Senior Investment Strategist Paul Eitelman and Sophie Antal Gilbert, head of AIS business solutions, discussed what to expect at the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed)’s next policy meeting. They also chatted about the impact of recent Brexit developments on financial markets and dug into the latest data on eurozone industrial production.
The British exit (Brexit) from the European Union (EU) was back in the news on Tuesday, after the British Parliament voted against British Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal. This was not the first time lawmakers rejected a proposal put forth by May’s government; however, the proximity of this vote to the March 29 deadline to withdraw from the EU was cause for concern.