Responding to a reporter’s question regarding the Federal Reserve’s going-forward efforts to balance the risk of weaker employment against that of growing inflation, Chairman Powell stated, “We have a situation where we have two-sided risk, and that means there’s no risk-free path.” That two-sided risk scenario always exists, of course, but managing against both of […]

In this podcast, I speak to concerns regarding the AI land grab.

A year of somewhat volatile gains for bonds provided a sharp counterpoint to the volatility global stocks experienced over the past year:

The S&P 500 set an intraday peak on the penultimate trading day in June. The day’s gains evaporated on news of a breakdown in tariff discussions with Canada, however. By the end of trading, though, most of the about-face had been regained. The gain/news/plunge/rebound cycle exemplifies how fickle the stock market can be. Similarly, zoom […]

In common parlance, to discount a statement means to not take the assertion at face value. In finance, to “discount” something means to develop a current value for a potential investment by estimating a future value and any cash flows in between. The market has been roiling with evolving themes and variations on both notions: […]

Different than the open-down-close-lower trading of Thursday and Friday, the first two days of this week suggest investors are beginning to dig in their heels. Their footing continues to slip, however, as the president and members of his administration maintain stances in defiance to the market’s obvious rejection of the tariff policies announced last Wednesday. […]