Treasury yields plunged below 4% this week for the first time since January on recession fears as global manufacturing activity contracted and hiring in the U.S. slowed dramatically in July.
Potential for another trade war fueled by a rise in global protectionist policies has investors revisiting the potential impact on stocks, inflation, and economic growth.
Improving inflation and growth scenarios should enhance the equities and bond dynamic for multi-asset investors.
President Joe Biden’s withdrawal and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris has sent shockwaves through the political establishment, and while former President Donald Trump remains the frontrunner, the wind has certainly shifted in Harris’s favor.
Progress toward a goal usually isn’t linear. The first 50% isn’t too bad, the next 40% is harder, and the last 10% consumes most of the effort and resources. Business strategists call this the “last mile” problem… and it applies to inflation, too.
With growth moderating and inflation cooling, the US seems on track for a soft landing—as markets digest a stream of incoming information. Equity performance may be on the verge of broadening beyond a handful of stocks, and still-sizable bond yields bolster return potential.
San Francisco has been the subject of a lot of negative press over the past several years. It was hit hard by the pandemic exodus from cities, the shift to work from home that emptied offices, the crime and homelessness that marred its national reputation, and pledges by corporate leaders such as Elon Musk to relocate their company headquarters elsewhere.
Real estate stocks have taken a hefty beating this year, with REITs having the sole distinction of being the lone S&P 500 group in the red.
One was in the car with her family, the other had his phone off, when Jamie Dimon began dialing their numbers on a Saturday in January with a question: Could they run a Wall Street operation bigger than Goldman Sachs?
The mortgage lock-in effect ended in the Levin household shortly before my in-laws arrived from Mexico to celebrate my daughter’s birthday at our home in the Miami area. As usual, my wife and I had no place to put them, and they had to get a room at a Courtyard Marriott.
The inflation picture is getting better but we still have too much of it. Inflation is going but not gone, and probably won’t be gone anytime soon. Today I’ll tell you why.
A seismic shift is taking place in corporate America as even more companies announce plans to relocate from blue states to more business-friendly jurisdictions like Texas.
Issuance of green bonds surged in the first half of 2024. That could put more eyeballs on the VanEck Green Bond ETF (GRNB).
Rachel Reeves is going to need some money. The UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer has inherited, she says, one of the worst sets of circumstances since World War II.
There’s a new-found religion in the US airline industry, and investors should be thrilled. It’s called discipline.
Legions of bankers from Hong Kong and London to Dubai and South Africa were caught up in the global IT outage, leaving some unable to log on to computer systems and hobbling others from making trades.
Back in 2021, legions of critics lambasted the Federal Reserve for failing to take proactive and forward-looking steps against the emerging inflation threat. Curiously, many of them have gone silent on the risk that the Fed might get caught flatfooted again, this time by failing to cut interest rates soon enough in the face of weaker inflation and a cooling labor market.
It’s earnings season yet again. And I think this one is going to be more down-to-earth than the ones we’ve had over the past year.
It's important to understand the true meaning behind the names of investment funds, especially when it comes to those labeled "tax-managed"
The Federal Reserve is in the pilot’s seat as the American economy approaches a soft landing. The runway is in sight, but some careful maneuvering will still be needed.
Elections have been anything but easy for investors. What has been easy is financial conditions in the US relative to the level of policy rates, fostering the debate over the degree of policy restrictiveness as global monetary easing begins.
The lags between a shift in monetary policy and the economic impact are long and variable. While the actions of the Federal Reserve during the pandemic were unprecedented, it finally looks like the excess money pumped into the economy has worked its way through the system. And with the M2 measure of the money supply down from its peak, the economy is reacting.
We are in the time of year when Americans pack transatlantic airliners for their European vacations. I had actually hoped to be one of them. That didn’t work out but we can still talk about events in Europe. And we probably should, because potentially major changes are happening.
I have been looking forward to writing this blog for a long time. I joined Russell Investments on July 12, 2004 and now that it is my 20th anniversary, I feel it’s the right moment to share some of what I have learned along the way.
VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Franklin FTSE United Kingdom ETF (FLGB) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”
Tracking down those in the technology industry cautious about artificial intelligence is much like looking for Republicans in San Francisco: There’s plenty of them out there, if you’d care to ask. And lately, they seem to be growing in number.
I love questions like this one – the chance to think creatively and brainstorm “what could be” without the stress of having to do something right now. I have some suggestions to start thinking about what you could do when you have more latitude and less financial responsibility.
Earnings season is just around the corner. It could prove critical to justifying the record rally we’ve seen thus far in 2024.
The oil company declared its traditional business was all but over. “The demand for fossil oil products will continue to decline,” it said in late 2020 as the pandemic slashed consumption. Even when Covid-19 is over, consumption wouldn’t “recover to previous levels.”
The reason I mention silver, oil and gold is because they were the top performing commodities in the first half of 2024. Let’s dive into what’s driving these trends and what they might mean for investors.
In trying to block China’s climb up the ladder of technological sophistication, the US may inadvertently be giving its rival a hand up.
A US-led effort to gradually disconnect trade ties with China, rising costs, and a broader understanding of the need to diversify production is driving manufacturers to invest in alternative locations.
As part of our annual tradition, we’ve reached out to Russell Investments’ associate base to come up with four recommended books for this year’s summer reading list. Below are our choices, which cover a wide variety of topics, including leadership development, diversity and inclusion and the artificial intelligence revolution.
On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth discussed the Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.” The pair talked about several topics regarding the fund to give investors a deeper understanding of the ETF overall.
VettaFi looks at U.S. energy independence and the role the U.S. plays as a global energy supplier.
Although this missive is tabbed as a 3rd quarter expository, it strikes home more as a 2025 conundrum because contained in the current data is a cause and effect that we believe is clearly being overlooked. Let’s begin with the fact that the stock market averages are trading at record highs.
The giant federal debt we’ve been talking about isn’t just borrowed money. It is also lent money. Loans are two-party transactions. One side receives temporary use of cash which it agrees to repay with interest. The other gives up the current use of that cash in exchange for receiving interest. Ideally, it works out for both… but not always.
Sour sentiment toward emerging-market stocks is obscuring uncommon opportunities for equity investors.
As you move through retirement, it’s important to set time aside to reflect on how you’re doing. While most people often focus on their health and finances, it’s equally as important to think about other areas of your life as you approach the midpoint of your retirement.
Macro worries meet AI wonderwall. Stocks have managed to climb a wall of macro worries, thanks to largely solid earnings that we believe can expand beyond AI beneficiaries and continue to support prices. As Q3 begins, we look for:
Investors often ignore geopolitics, usually to their benefit. Now might be one of those times when we should pay attention. In the past few weeks, hostilities between East and West have accelerated. It’s a worrisome trend.
It took much of the first half of the year for Treasury bond investors to fall in line with a Federal Reserve signaling higher-for-longer interest rates. Now, as they weigh the timing of a second-half pivot, they must also contend with potential wild-card risks from a hotly contested presidential race.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang wrapped up separate meetings in Southeast Asia this week, the two partners in the BRICS economic bloc encountered a region keen to join a group seen as a hedge against Western-led institutions.
Small cap performance has been a hot topic lately, with many pundits declaring the small cap premium on life support or dead altogether.
After being on the frontline of the pandemic, then grappling with an edgy public and a spike in shoplifting, its been a tough few years to work retail. But for Walmart Inc. managers, at least, things are looking up.
Nadeem Meghji was on honeymoon in late 2022 when the biggest storm to have rocked Blackstone Inc.’s property business hit its peak.
Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” mantra propelled tech innovation for the internet age. In the era of artificial intelligence, it should take a leaf out of Japan’s playbook and slow down.
Recently, James Grant, editor of the Interest Rate Observer, was asked about his outlook for interest rates. He sees interest rates moving in a cyclical pattern, potentially rising for another multi-decade period.
Does anyone in Silicon Valley know the saying, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall?” Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before they will.
In this video, Chuck Carnevale, Co-Founder of FAST Graphs, a.k.a. Mr. Valuation will go over 10 value stocks with low debt and strong growth with very consistent operating histories over time, but best of all, they are in value today.
