Investments
Out of the Ether and into an ETF
The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, has now made its way into US-listed exchange-traded funds. Last Tuesday, the SEC greenlit 9 products (one conversion) to begin trading in a quiet and almost unexpected launch, especially relative to the craze seen earlier in the year surrounding Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum was the logical approval after …
Grant Engelbart
August 2, 2024
The Labor Market is Ready for Rate Cuts
Well, that didn’t take long. Since the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday- presumably waiting on continued solid data supporting their case – the data confirmed otherwise. Thursday’s set of economic data saw initial jobless claims rise to their highest level in a year, alongside a weak manufacturing ISM number. Stocks fell …
Grant Engelbart
August 2, 2024
The Fed Opens the Door (Wide)
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting concluded Wednesday, leaving target interest rates unchanged, almost exactly a year after raising rates to their current level. In their statement and press conference, the committee acknowledged moderation of the labor market and the move higher in the unemployment rate. Chair Powell went beyond hinting when referring to …
Grant Engelbart
August 1, 2024
Beware of August? Maybe Not in an Election Year
“August slipped away into a moment in time, ’cause it was never mine.” — Taylor Swift Let’s get right to the point, August historically isn’t a very good month for stocks. Most people know this and it is factually true, as stocks are down on average during this month since 1950 and the past 10 …
Ryan Detrick
July 31, 2024
Investing Insights with Cliff Asness
How do you balance rigorous research with open-mindedness in investing? How do you communicate effectively with clients during volatile times? This week, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group & Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist at Carson Group, chat with Cliff Asness, Managing and Founding Principal at AQR Capital Management, for an insightful …
Ryan Detrick
July 31, 2024
Why The First 2% Drop In A Long Time Doesn’t Mean The Bull Market Is Over
“No pressure, no diamonds.” – Thomas Carlyle, 19th century Scottish historian Well, it was due to happen and last Wednesday it did, as the S&P 500 finally fell more than 2% on the day. Disappointing earnings from Tesla and Alphabet sparked it, but the reality is you can’t go forever without a bad day and …
Ryan Detrick
July 30, 2024
Under the Hood: Growing Trends Remain…Growing
By Blake Anderson, CFA, Sr. Analyst, Investment Investors this week parsed results from some of the world’s most familiar companies including Alphabet, Tesla, Visa and Spotify. Each of these companies aim to tell investors a similar story about product innovation and revenue growth as a result. In a growing economy that continuously produces new …
Blake Anderson
July 29, 2024
Q2 GDP Growth Confirms Economic Resilience
This was a “goldilocks” GDP report, with enough strength to be reassuring but not so much that it weighed on the likelihood of a September rate cut. The economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.8% in the second quarter, after adjusting for inflation. This was well above expectations of a 2.0% increase and acceleration …
Barry Gilbert
July 26, 2024
Be Prepared for the “Sahm Rule” Hype
The next jobs report comes out on August 2. There is a chance the report may trigger a recession signal called the Sahm rule, with an accompanying viral explosion of misinterpretation and misinformation. While the Sahm rule may not trigger, we thought it would be useful to get ahead of things and provide some thoughts …
Barry Gilbert
July 25, 2024
Seven More Reasons This Bull Market Has Plenty of Life Left
“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” -Groucho Marx Have you tried to fly this week? My oh my, what a mess out there. On both Sunday and Monday nights I was stuck at airports until well past midnight. I made it to Minnesota this week for some …
Ryan Detrick
July 24, 2024
Is This Really Happening?
Market chaos and travel nightmares might seem unrelated, but they both reveal deeper systemic issues and opportunities. How do travel disruptions reflect broader economic vulnerabilities? What historical parallels can we draw to understand current market trends? In this episode, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group & Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist at …
Ryan Detrick
July 24, 2024
Under the Hood: This Week’s Earnings Overshadowed by the Macro
Earnings continue to roll in, though they’ve had little impact to the market’s narrative thus far. The focus has been on the resurgence of small caps (see Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick’s blog here), and my, what a week it has been. While we do expect the earnings reports of the large technology companies to …
Carson Group
July 23, 2024