Insights

July 7, 2026 OIL BACK UP, STOCKS MIXED: The Iran war heated back up, oil prices rose, and stocks struggled. However, U.S. tech and energy stocks rose which carried the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to a positive week. Hewlett Packard and Meta both rose double digits for the week. South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix launched what turned out to be a $26.5 billion share sale, the largest ever by a non U.S. company. LONGER-TERM PERFORMANCE: Below are the annualized three-year

July 7, 2026 250 YEARS: The birthday of the United States of America occurred over this weekend. I am old enough to remember the bicentennial. Gerald Ford was president because the elected president and vice president resigned in disgrace. The Democrats were deciding between Jimmy Carter, Frank Church, and Edmund Brown to run against Ford. Israeli commandos were carrying out a daring raid at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, rescuing 105 hostages. The Vietnam war had recently

June 21, 2026 THE FED MEETS: The Federal Reserve met for the first time under new Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday. Interest rates were not changed, and there were no dissenting votes. However, of the 19 voting officials, nine predicted at least one rate increase by the end of the year. None had done that at the last meeting. Stock prices fell on the news. OIL PRICES DROP, GAS BEGINS TO FOLLOW: With news of an actual U.S./Iran peace deal, oil prices moved down decisively,

June 7, 2026 A GREAT MONTH FOR JOBS: On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 172,000 net new jobs in May, a lot more than was generally expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. STOCK WINNING STREAK ENDS: The Iran war seemed to take a back seat this past week. Oil prices did not move much, and news from the Middle East was indecisive. So what moved markets to decline? The tech sector took center stage once ag

May 24, 2026 HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY AND HAPPY GRADUATION SEASON: All of us will experience Memorial Day this weekend, and many of us will get the opportunity to celebrate a graduation this season. In that spirit, I will share words from a graduation speech last week...good advice for all of us, not just recent grads: "Friendship now requires much more intentionality than it once did. So my advice, as you think about what does and doesn’t deserve your attention, is reach out to

May 10, 2026 HEALTHY APRIL JOBS REPORT: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 115,000 net new jobs in April. The government sector shed 8,000 jobs and private sector jobs rose by 123,000. The leading gains were in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail. Manufacturing decreased by 2,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2% and are up 3.6% over the last twelve months

May 3, 2026 U.S. GDP INCREASED AT 2.0% ANNUAL RATE IN FIRST QUARTER: The U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), rose by a 2.0% annual rate in the first quarter of 2026. The largest contributor to growth was business investment in equipment and intellectual property. Personal consumption also fueled the positive number. Personal consumption, business fixed investment, and home building combined rose at a 2.5% annualized rate. So, the U.S. is not in rec

April 26, 2026 VOLATILE OIL PRICES EDGE DOWN AGAIN: The Brent Crude Oil spot price ended the week down another $3.00 per barrel. In the last three weeks it has ended at $119, $116, and now $113. It briefly got below $100 last week before rising again. CONSUMERS IN A FOUL MOOD: The University of Michigan has been keeping a survey-driven consumer sentiment index for about fifty years. In March, the index came in at 49.8, dropping from 53.3 the month before. That is the lo

April 19, 2026 OIL PRICES EDGE DOWN: The Brent Crude Oil spot price edged down from last week's closing price of $119 to $116. This is progress, but whether it holds depends on whether there is progress or setbacks in the Middle East this week. STOCK RALLY CONTINUES: Continued news of progress in ending hostilities in the Middle East pushed stocks higher again on Friday, confirming a third straight week of stock gains. Comments by the Iranian Foreign Minister that the St