The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday for the fifth meeting in a row as two Fed governors dissented, underscoring the division within the central bank over the potential impact of President Trump’s tariffs. Central bank policymakers voted to maintain the Fed’s benchmark interest rate in the range of 4.25%-4.5%, as they have throughout…
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are both hovering near record highs as escalating tariffs and a growing debate about monetary policy have done little to shake markets. The Nasdaq Composite led the gains last week, rising more than 1.6%. Meanwhile the S&P 500 popped about 0.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average…
The Israel-Iran conflict is the latest geopolitical event attempting to scare us out of this bull market. There were plenty of headlines heading into the last full trading week of June, including retaliatory measures from Iran that suggested a potential closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Providing the sole passage from the Persian Gulf to…
The stock and bond markets pulled a sharp 180 this week. After prolonged sell-offs, both rallied on a renewed outlook for Fed rate cuts. A trifecta of events suggests the Fed can be more aggressive than previously thought. Stocks and bonds staged a major turnaround this week thanks to a perfect storm of factors that…