With the release of April's report on personal incomes and outlays, we can now take a closer look at "real" disposable personal income per capita. At two decimal places, the nominal 0.80% month-over-month change in disposable income comes to 0.70% when we adjust for inflation, the largest monthly gain since January 2024. The year-over-year metrics are 4.47% nominal and 2.27% real.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, rose 2.5% year-over-year in April, marking the lowest level for the index in over four years. This was consistent with the forecast and a slowdown from 2.7% in March. On a monthly basis, the core index was up 0.1%, as expected.
Emerging markets debt held its ground in the first quarter, but staying ahead means staying selective. We’re reassessing positioning across high-, low-, and frontier-beta currencies and rates as trade tensions and U.S. policy inject fresh uncertainty.
Many investors have underweighted high yield bond ETF strategies in recent years, satisfied with the opportunities found in other segments of the fixed income market.
There could be a silver lining in the volatile clouds hovering above the bond markets. Investors may want to give municipal bonds a closer look given their sound fundamentals.
In this video – Part 4 – Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, aka Mr. Valuation discusses the volatility of the stock market, using the S&P 500 (SPY) as a proxy-Understanding the Power of Individual Stocks.
Nvidia, the biggest AI chip firm, reports Wednesday. Blackwell chip demand, tariffs, and guidance all could help determine how shares respond after a volatile two months.
Remember last July and August when the yen carry trade blew up? At the time, the central bank surprised the market by signaling a faster pace of rate hikes than expected. Investors sold foreign currency, bought back yen and sent markets into a tailspin.
Summer is here. And for a select cohort of college students, that means swapping lecture halls for trading floors and seminar rooms for Wall Street office suites.
Despite strong year-to-date performance, developed ex-U.S. large-cap equities continue to trade at far more attractive valuations than their U.S. counterparts.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill" tax-and-spending plan was passed by the House of Representatives and now moves on to the Senate. Here's what's in it.
The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, recently announced he will be stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
An "end-to-end" approach in process management means handling a task or product from its initial planning stages to the finishing point or delivery, without relying on intermediaries for specific steps. No nation does this better than China.
The second estimate for Q1 GDP came in at -0.24%, a deceleration from 2.45% for the Q4 third estimate. With a per-capita adjustment, the headline number is lower at -0.74%, a slowdown from 1.82% for the Q4 headline number.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) is comprised of four major subcomponents. In the Q1 2025 GDP second estimate, two of the four components made positive contributions.
Join the experts at SS&C ALPS Advisors as they discuss their approach to international dividend companies, the ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG).
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) pending home sales index fell more than expected in April, experiencing its largest monthly decrease since June 2022. The index came in at 71.3, the third lowest reading in the series' history.
A lot of people are worried about the level of US interest rates. “I think we should be afraid of the bond market,” billionaire investor Ray Dalio said last week.
The long-term bearish case for the dollar remained intact after a court ruled that the vast majority of President Donald Trump’s global trade tariffs are illegal, amplifying uncertainty over the US economic outlook.
The U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years to start off 2025. The BEA's second estimate of real gross domestic product showed economic growth decreased at an annual rate of 0.2% in Q1 2025. The latest estimate was higher than the -0.3% forecast and lower than the Q4 final estimate of 2.5%.
Two of Wall Street’s top investment banks cautioned that the impact of a court ruling striking down many of President Donald Trump’s tariff measures may prove limited, given that the administration has other avenues to impose import duties.
A dollar is a dollar, whether spat out by an ATM or digitally issued on the blockchain. That’s the promise of Circle Internet Group Inc., one of the biggest issuers of stablecoins designed to emulate fiat money like the greenback or the euro, primarily for the purpose of cryptocurrency trading.
KKR & Co.’s recent deal for a struggling UK real estate firm was initially remarkable for landing in the midst of the American tariff turmoil. Now facing a domestic counterbid, this US-led buyout has become an emotive symbol of the London stock market’s capitulation to private equity and foreign takeovers.
Index ETFs have evolved beyond merely providing passive exposure to the market, with a new generation of factor ETFs utilizing complex rules-based methodologies to beat benchmarks.
Matching assets to long-term liabilities without compromising on return potential can be a challenge for insurers with long-duration liabilities.
There is still a wide divergence between hard and soft data, and a recovery in the latter is likely to be weak absent a meaningful reduction in policy uncertainty.
Sell in May and Go Away? This old market saying tends to resurface around Memorial Day, suggesting investors should scale back their equity exposure ahead of what’s perceived as a seasonally weaker stretch for stocks.
Markets have recovered from their post-Liberation Day sell-off. Investors are feeling better about the outlook. But there are still clouds on the horizon.
A monumental week of announcements from Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic signals a strategic shift from standalone AI models to integrated “AI agents” that can act on a user’s behalf.
529 plans do not earn interest like a traditional savings account. However, they offer strong growth potential through a range of investment options.
Some of the most useful financial advice has a homespun tone, like to make hay while the sun is shining or save up for a rainy day. I recently encountered another helpful idea in that vein: Think of your house like a family member who is always sick.
Given the uncertainty of what potentially happens next, the recent rally is an excellent opportunity to adjust portfolio risks to navigate the next leg of this market cycle.
I worked with a large mutual fund company years ago to develop a program on succession planning for advisors. I’ll share insights and considerations if you are thinking about making a transition, or are working with an advisor who is doing so.
Join the experts at State Street Global Advisors, Confluence Investment Management, and Astor Investment Management as they provide a midyear market update and explore opportunities and challenges facing investors
Margin debt is the amount of money an investor borrows from their broker via a margin account. This video provides an update on FINRA's margin debt with data through April 2025.
Clients aren’t asking their financial advisor to be everything. They’re asking for clarity and confidence in what matters most to them. Simplifying the client experience may be the most strategic move advisors can make.
The wealth management industry is prepared to court its newest potential clients: Gen Z. Instead of trotting out older professionals with decades of experience, companies are utilizing generative AI to develop digital assistants.
In this article, I focus on five essential age-based milestones and life events that collectively present more than 40 million advice opportunities, enabling financial advisors to showcase their care and expertise beyond traditional investment strategies.
Fifth district manufacturing activity slowed in May, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index rose four points this month to -9 after falling nine points in April. This month's reading was consistent with the forecast.
Nvidia Corp. faces the final test of an earnings season-driven rally that has sent its shares up more than 40% from an April low.
Exchange-traded funds have amassed trillions of dollars by offering investors greater tax efficiency, liquidity and lower costs than mutual funds.
Residential mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, are a big part of the securitized investment market. Here's what to know about MBS investing.
Cantor Fitzgerald LP agreed to buy UBS Group AG’s O’Connor unit, ending more than three decades of ownership by the Swiss bank and placing the hedge fund back in control of one of its early founders.
Mounting concerns regarding growing U.S. government deficits and a volatile tariff policy create a challenging backdrop for U.S. bonds.
Actively managed ETFs pulled in approximately 40% of the industry flows through the first four months of 2025. These ETFs tap into professional expertise, which has been helpful in the volatile market environment. The latest model allocation changes made by BlackRock’s team will help more ETF-minded advisors have greater access to active strategies.
While official estimates remain fluid and subject to change, our preliminary analysis at the time of this writing suggests that the House Reconciliation Proposal could significantly increase the national debt over the next decade.
Gold remains firmly in correction mode — even I will readily agree with that.
Over many years of educating investors about direct indexing, we have noticed a common misunderstanding—conflating the economic value of harvested losses with the investment return on the performance statement.
Proposed tax-cut extensions and higher debt costs could amplify fiscal concern.
Rising imports of glass containers are just one sign of how the US lost its manufacturing culture.
