The Weekly Insight

We’ve heard of some crazy metrics in the market before. There are traders and analysts everywhere who will try to tell you that the market’s success or failure is tied to some obscure metric. The truth is, they can show you example after example of when X happened, Y happened. But there is a big difference between there being a correlation between those two events and X causing Y to happen. And that brings us to today’s topic: the McRib. Did you know its release is a strong indicator of stock...

As we enter the final stretch of 2024, we begin to hear from the great prognosticators their predictions for how next year is going to play out in the markets. As these reports start to roll in, we thought we’d look at how well the experts predicted 2024 market outcomes. We think you’ll find the results interesting. And we hope they will color your view of the next round crystal ball polishing we’re about to see.Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-dont-trust-the-...

Readers of our commentary have known for a long time where we stand on the Federal debt. The rapidly growing problem has long-term consequences which will eventually be borne by all of us. And there has been little effort by either party to enact meaningful solutions. But now an unlikely pair of fiscal hawks – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – have been tasked by President-elect Trump with fixing the problem. Is it fixable? And will their proposed solutions work?Read more here: https://insightw...

In the last edition of the Weekly Insight, we suggested that the market might be venturing into an “overbought” position and suggested it may need a bit of a breather before it made another step forward. We got just that last week as the market focus shifted from the election back to the topics that have been moving markets for the last few years: the Fed, interest rates, and inflation.Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-shifting-expectations/

Well, the election is behind us. Some Americans are very happy. Some are very unhappy. But, no matter what, the economy keeps moving and we need to keep moving with it. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-post-election-priorities/

Tomorrow is a big day. And for many of us, it seems like the finish line for a long and grueling process. Sadly, when it comes to politics, there is no finish line. There will be more contentious issues to tackle after the election is done. And the same goes for the market and the economy. The FOMC is going to remind us of that later this week when they meet on Thursday to make their next interest rate decision. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-finish...

We’re almost there. Just eight days to go until we can put this election behind us. But we also have to remember that elections matter in portfolios. This week, we look at one of the big areas where we might see immediate impacts to the market following the election: tax policy. The shape of this election will impact what happens to the soon-to-expire Tax Cut and Jobs Act from 2017. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-positioning-for-the-post-election-world/

You’d be forgiven for thinking the only thing happening in the world today is the Presidential election coming up in just over two weeks. It seems that’s all any pundit is talking about. But the truth is, there is a lot happening impacting financial markets that has absolutely nothing to do with who gets sworn into office on January 20, 2025.Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-theres-more-than-an-election/

As they say, the only thing constant in the world is change. And we’re seeing an interesting change in how the market perceives economic news. You’ll recall many conversations in the pages of the Weekly Insight over the last few years about how “good news” was bad for the market as we battled inflation. That may not be true anymore.Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-is-good-news-good-news-again/

The world sure seems full of worry today, doesn’t it? It doesn’t help that we have two Presidential candidates fear mongering for votes. But there are things we should worry about in portfolios and things that really don’t move the needle. One that deserves our attention right now is the situation in the Middle East and the potential for a disruption in oil supplies. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-28-miles-of-angst/

It finally happened! The Fed cut rates last week. And not just a 0.25% cut. We got the full 0.50%, which was larger than many anticipated. That brings up many questions, but the biggest is the simplest: what if they’re wrong? What if the Fed has misjudged this moment? What would it mean for the economy and for portfolios?Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-what-if-theyre-wrong/

As we head into Fed Week (a very important Fed Week!), we thought it might be a good time to step back and look at the economy as a whole. We’re in an interesting moment. Economic growth continues to excel at a time when citizens of our country overwhelmingly say the economy is not succeeding. Where is the disconnect? And what does it mean for the future? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-k-shaped-recovery/

Did you feel that? That was the market’s worst week in 2024. Down 4.22% in a week. Well worse than we saw even at the beginning of August.Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-worst-week-ever/

Would it surprise you if we told you the party in power in Washington will use its power to juice the economy prior to an election? It shouldn’t. Both parties have been doing it for years. But the current Administration is taking a novel approach to this task that some are calling “Stealth QE”. It’s impacting the markets today (in a good way), but it may have longer term consequences which would impact your portfolio. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insig...

The market’s recovery last week continued and – with the exception of Big Tech – has left us back where we started before the downturn started in July. That move was further spurred by Jerome Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole on Friday where he basically announced rate cuts are coming in September. That’s all good news, but how does this change our outlook on risk in portfolios? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-one-down-two-to-go/