Last Month in the market

This is Bull!! What a year!!

Key take-aways: It’s been nothing short of a banner year for Wall Street. In October, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), benchmark S&P 500 (GSPC), and growth-powered Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) celebrated their two-year anniversary of the current bull market. Following the election of Donald Trump for a second (nonconsecutive) term as president, all three…

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Looking back and moving forward – with AI

So this month’s review will be a trial…. I wanted to see just how much AI will impact our lives going forward and thus let AI comment on last month’s activity. So sit back and relax while AI expounds on last month’s market cycle….. (this ought to be fun). So, the U.S. economy in October…

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Q3 in Review and Q4 2024 Market Outlook

Before I begin, my thoughts go out to those both preparing for hurricane Milton and those impacted by hurricane Helena. Intro For a while this summer, it looked like the bull market in stocks was in trouble. But by the end of the third quarter, stocks were back to posting new record highs. Bonds also…

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Watching the Fed!!

Since July 10, we have observed a rotation in market performance. Over the past week this trend accelerated. Major equity markets, most notably Japan, have sold off as a combination of events shifted risk appetite in markets. Despite this trend of volatility our economic outlook remains steady. We feel the market’s recent reactions appear overblown…

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So far, so good. Can this last?

The S&P 500 index gained a whopping 14.5% to close the first six months of 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.8% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 18.1%. Like much of 2023, there’s been one big driver behind the gains: artificial intelligence. Similar to last year, a large part of this year’s gains were…

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Progress heading into the Summer?

Every morning, every week, every month and every year we all get a chance to reset. A chance to show our production and reap the rewards (or losses) for that time period. The same applies to the prudent investor. As the markets rises, so does investor confidence. But be-careful-what-you-wish-for. We are seeing lower trading volume…

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Planning now can save money for later

Unless you filed for an extension, or live in Maine or Massachusetts, congratulations! The 2023 tax season is over! Now would be a great time to review what you’ve learned from last year to improve your filing and tax efficiency for next year. For example, last month the market pulled back on news that the…

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1 Quarter down… 3 to go.

Last quarter was a phenomenal one by almost any standards for a wide range of risk assets in a large part of the globe.  The S&P 500 climbed nearly 10% to post its biggest first-quarter gain since 2019. The benchmark index in late January hit its first record high in two years. From <https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/how-us-stock-market-rocketed-through-first-quarter-2024-03-28/> But markets are…

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Happy Anniversary!!!!

20 years ago, I opened my first office as an Advisor in Bethlehem, PA. I still recall my first client, a young couple opening a college 529 account for their newborn child. The firm I was associated with was commission driven however, following the advice of my then mentor, I focused on the client relationship…

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