Insights Investments

Monday, June 30, concluded an extraordinary first half for markets. The end of the half is always a good time to look at what’s been happening in markets and think about implications for the second half of the year. Here are some highlights from the first half of the year and what they might tell …

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”  Michelangelo What a wild ride 2025 has been and it is only halfway over! After being down nearly 20% at the lows in April, stocks have staged one …

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has triggered one of the largest growth spurts in US electricity demand in decades. Early indicators show some impacts of this already as grid electricity prices are increasing, signaling that electricity demand is growing faster than supply. While the underlying technologies powering AI systems are expected to become significantly …

Let’s go back to basics (it’s not quite back-to-school time) to discuss a topic that can occasionally cause communication issues for investors of all types. While the yield to maturity on an individual bond is typically the best predictor of total return, as we’ve noted in many of our Market Outlooks, the current yield on …

The Case-Shiller National home price index fell 0.4% month over month in April, the second consecutive month of declines following the 0.3% decline in March. Note that the Case-Shiller index is actually a three-month average, and so the April index prices are a three-month average of February, March, and April. That means the actual monthly …

In the latest Facts vs Feelings, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist, discuss recent Middle East tensions involving the U.S. and Iran, the surprisingly minimal market reaction despite high geopolitical stakes, and insights into historical parallels and fiscal spending impacts on stock markets. They also cover recent criticisms of …

“Don’t confuse brains with a bull market.” Humphrey B. Neill The wild ride in 2025 continues, as stocks surprised many and gained 1% on Monday after the US attacked Iran over the weekend, while crude oil declined nearly 14% from the open to the close, one of the largest intraday reversals in history. But is …

In November, I wrote A Roadblock Removed to contextualize the rise in Tesla’s stock price and detail a potential regulatory shift that could benefit the company. The regulatory environment for autonomous vehicles (“AVs”) is ambiguous, with many state and local jurisdictions having the right to approve or disallow operators. I detailed the potential for NHTSA, …

The Federal Reserve (Fed) kept rates unchanged in the 4.25-4.50% range at their June meeting, as was expected. The most notable change in their official statement was that the Fed believes uncertainty concerning the economic outlook has reduced – but that’s only relative to a couple of months ago (post-Liberation Day). They still believe uncertainty …

Bloomberg reported this week that the number of listed, actively managed ETFs now exceeds passive ETFs for the first time, although assets in active ETFs remain significantly lower. This milestone comes as the “ETF as a share-class structure” gains traction, potentially paving the way for even more active strategies to enter the market. There are …

In the latest Facts vs Feelings, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist, are joined by financial journalist and TKer founder and editor Sam Ro. Together, they cover Sam’s background, his curated newsletter approach, emerging data-quality issues at the BLS, and why human judgment still matters in the age of AI. Key …