State of the Markets

Did Something Just Crawl Out Of The Woodwork?

By: David Moenning

And we're back... After months of little to no volatility, the bears got back into the game yesterday, putting on a pretty decent show on the first day of the week's trade. Stocks started the day higher - no, make that, a lot higher - on the back of strong earnings from the likes …

Bulls May Need To Slow Their Roll

By: David Moenning

The "State of the Markets" The bulls encountered a bit of a challenge early last week, but by Friday appeared to be none the worse for wear as the rip-snorting bull run of 2018 continued unabated. However, at least on Tuesday and Wednesday, it appeared that our furry fri…

Bond Panic May Be Fake News

By: David Moenning

After moving to within a whisker of the 2.6% level (2.595% to be exact) yesterday, the yield on the U.S. Government's 10-Year Treasury pulled back in the afternoon and closed at 2.55%. The key is the closing level was only a smidge higher (.004%) from Tuesday's fix. So, since the bond bea…

Are Bonds Crossing The Line In The Sand?

By: David Moenning

When stocks enter what I like to call "melt up" mode, everything is right with the world. The economic data is strong. Earnings are fantastic. Inflation is low. Consumers are happy and shopping. Employers are hiring. In short, things look good as far as the eye can see. Having bee…

Is The Most Hated Market Now The Most Loved?

By: David Moenning

At this time last year, many referred to the current bull market as "one of the most hated" in history. There was a host of things to worry about and if memory serves, many prominent analysts opined that there was no justification for the joyride to the upside that was occurring. Oh, and …

Bulls On The Run

By: David Moenning

The "State of the Markets" With the S&P 500 up 2.6% so far in 2018, it appears that, barring an unforeseen disaster today, the market will wind up with a gain for the first five trading days of the new year. And as the saying goes, "As the first five days of the year go, so …

File This Jobs Report in the Goldilocks Category

By: David Moenning

If it's the first Friday of the month, it must be jobs day. The Labor Department reported that the economy added 148,000 jobs in December, which was well below the expectations for 190,000 new jobs. December's total was also below November's torrid pace of 252,000, which was revised up fr…

Could Good News Become Bad Again Soon?

By: David Moenning

To be sure, inflation does not appear to be a major threat to the economy at this point in time. And as a quick aside, when I began in the business in early 1980, the "problem" was too much inflation, not too little. Thus, I've found all the hand wringing about inflation failing to meet c…

Can The Bears Find Their Long-Lost Mojo?

By: David Moenning

The "State of the Markets" As we embark on a fresh new calendar year (aka the scorecard in our business), the question of the day is – in my mind, in my mind, anyway – will the bears will be able to locate their long-lost mojo anytime soon? To be sure, it has…

What Could Go Wrong?

Yesterday's missive took a glass-is-half-full stance by exploring the various tailwinds the bulls are counting on to keep stock prices movin' on up. The list included earnings, economic growth, low inflation, ongoing QE, favorable seasonality, the flows into passive funds/ETFs, performanc…