ReCAP

Summary Keeping with the holiday spirit, markets finished the year in a generous mood, filling investors’ stockings with one final month’s worth of bumper returns for stocks and bonds. With the consensus in the U.S. and internationally, agreeing that interest rate hikes are likely a thing of the past, worries of a broad economic recession…

Summary Investors had plenty of reasons to feel thankful in November. Coming off consecutive losing months, stocks roared back, with global equity returns finishing north of 8%. Bonds followed closely behind, with the Bloomberg Aggregate Index posting its largest monthly return since 1985, buoyed by a stunning rally in interest rates during the second half…

Summary Markets continued to decline in October, retracing lower for the third consecutive month. Stocks took a hit due to a combination of strong economic data – which fueled concerns that higher interest rates will persist – and geopolitical risks associated with an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Bond yields were volatile throughout the…

Summary Markets declined further in September, marking a second consecutive down month for both stocks and bonds. Interest rates marched higher, and the Treasury curve flattened with the 10-year yield topping 4.6% late in the month; mortgage rates also ended higher. On the economic front, the United Auto Workers initiated the first phase of a…

Summary Markets seemed to wilt in the summer heat of August before staging a small rally at month-end to pare earlier losses. On August 1st, Fitch downgraded its rating for U.S. government debt from AAA to AA+, sparking an equity and interest rate sell-off that persisted for three weeks. Later in the month, encouraging economic…

Summary Stocks moved higher in July, and interest rates edged upward. While much of the country dealt with scorching temperatures, inflation continued to cool; June’s CPI of 3% marked a new low off 2022’s peak. Consumer confidence and the labor market both continued to improve. Following a pause in June, the Fed hiked the fund…

Summary Global equity markets moved higher in June. Boosted by resilient consumer spending and technology sectors, U.S. stocks led the way, as equities continued to rebound from 2022’s losses. Inflation cooled to 4% through May, its lowest level in over two years, prompting the Federal Reserve to pause in their tightening cycle, and ending a…

Summary Most major indexes moved lower in May on volatile trading. With the U.S. Treasury warning that a deal would be needed to raise the debt ceiling by the first week of June to avoid a default, President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy spent most of the month haggling over various proposals before settling on…

Summary In the wake of a volatile close to the first quarter of the year, April provided investors an opportunity to catch their breath. Economic data (and asset returns) were mixed during the month with investors favoring stable, established, “new economy” names, and interest rate movements were relatively subdued. U.S. GDP growth for the first…