Posts Tagged ‘Market Commentary’

With the New Year upon us, it’s an ideal time to reflect on the milestones of the past year and consider what lies ahead. Throughout 2024, we experienced a blend of unexpected developments and steady progress in the financial landscape. In this update, we’ll provide a concise overview of the key events that defined the…

U.S. stocks extended their strong performance from the first half of the year, with many market indices reaching or nearing record highs as the third quarter drew to a close. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of positive returns for stocks, with 12 respective all-time highs during the quarter. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up…

The U.S. financial markets experienced strong performance and resilience in the first half of the year. Major stock indices, such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, hit record highs during this time period. Much of the rally is attributed to the robust performance of a select group of mega-cap stocks, particularly those benefiting from…

Strong performance spread throughout the financial markets in the first quarter of the year driven by resilient economic growth, optimism around artificial intelligence (AI), and expectations for future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. With the first quarter closed and NCAA March Madness brackets inevitably “busted,” let’s take a closer look at how the economy…

As we welcome the New Year, it’s a perfect moment to reflect on the journey of the past year and anticipate what’s ahead. The final months of 2023 brought us a mix of surprises and steady growth in the financial world. We’ve seen how businesses adapted, new opportunities emerged, and communities came together in resilience.…

Petersen Hastings

Petersen Hastings

In fact, the only money related searches to make the top 10 list in 2022 were #7 “Mega Millions” and #8 “Powerball.”  This indicates to me that in a time of declining stock and bond markets, people hope to turn their fortunes around by hitting it big with lottery games.  Instead of looking at their financial statements,…

The 3rd quarter of 2022 started out strong, with the S&P 500 Index climbing almost 15% from the end of June to the middle of August.  Then, the Federal Reserve indicated they might have to be more aggressive with interest rates to respond to the rising inflation numbers.  The markets around the globe took this as bad news…

The 2nd quarter of 2022 was mostly negative for stocks and bonds as the markets reacted to the highest inflation rates since the 1980s.  The Federal Reserve has responded to the rising inflation numbers by increasing the Federal Funds Rate by 0.5% in May, then another 0.75% in June to set the target rate between…