Welcome to the third installment of our series, "A Piece of the Puzzle," where we pause to share our insights on what we can anticipate in the markets and the economy for the upcoming month.
In today’s article, we’ll first discuss the market volatility we have seen over the past several weeks. Next, we’ll take a look at what the major political events over the past several weeks may portend for the upcoming Presidential race in November. And..
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Volatility has once again reared its head as the “Fear Index,” the VIX, briefly jumped above 65 on Monday. For most of 2024 it has floated around 13-16 and Monday’s move saw levels last seen during two tumultuous times: the Great Financial Crisis and the Great Covid Shutdown. The VIX eventually settled down at 38.6 and has continued to trend back downward to 25 the following day. So what drove investors to this tsunami of..
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The first half of the year unfolded much better than expected for U.S. equities. The U.S. economy stayed resilient in an environment where inflation and interest rates remained higher than expectations. Strong corporate earnings and the continued strength of the U.S. consumer propelled the market to record highs.
The S & P 500 was up nearly 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, reaching a new all-time high. The gains came with some volatility..
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