The Weekly Insight

It was Fed Week last week. And it was almost a non-event. Powell & Co. didn’t change the expected path of rate cuts, and the market responded well with the S&P 500 closing the week above 5,200 for the first time ever.  But there was another discussion buried below the headlines: what the Fed is going to do with its balance sheet holdings? This is an important, if not regularly discussed, topic.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-slowing-the-run-off/

For the last two years, every move the Federal Reserve makes has had a direct correlation to the performance of the stock market.  This week’s Fed meeting may be no different, but some interesting things happened last week which showed the market is moving away from the Fed as the sole determinate of success or failure.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-moving-on-from-the-fed/

The biggest news last week wasn’t economic, it was political. The starting gun has been fired on what will be one of the…strangest…Presidential campaigns in recent memory. And the shape of this race between two Presidents is going to impact markets, especially as we get into the summer and early fall. 

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-and-so-it-begins/

Another strong week in the market – and a great start to the year – gives us a little room to look further out into the future. And there is one $34 trillion long-term problem that causes us heartburn: the national debt.
 
Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-its-time-for-a-tough-conversation/

We heard from two of the most prominent voices in finance last week: Chairman Powell (via the FOMC Minutes) and Warren Buffett (via his annual shareholder letter).  It was a very good reminder of why the debates about things like “when will the Fed cut rates” are important – but not in the big picture.  Mr. Buffett’s long history has some valuable insights into how we can be better investors.
 
Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-minutes-hours-days-and-years/

We’ve talked for weeks now about the differences between the Fed’s preferred path on rate cuts and the market’s belief of what they will do. As a refresher, the Fed announced in December they believed they would cut rates three times in 2024. The market had a different view. The consensus at the time was the Fed would start rate cuts in March and would cut a total of seven times in 2024. 

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/politics-and-the-fed/

Fed Week is behind us and it’s clear we’re going to be waiting on rate cuts for a bit.  Powell quietly admitted we were right last week: the Fed’s key motivation is fear of being wrong.  But somehow the market ended the week up strongly. Why?

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-no-cuts-coming/

It’s Fed week again.  And while the reason has changed (when to cut rates vs. how high to raise them), what they say will have an impact on markets. And just like investors, their fears can impact their decision making.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-fear-at-the-fed/

Equity markets hit an all-time high on Friday (and are continuing the positive direction this week). If you’re like us, that leads to the question of where is it going next? 

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-a-yul-brynner-record/

Inflation was back in the news last week with the latest CPI data. In this edition of the Weekly Insight Memo and Weekly Insight Podcast, we look at what that report said and what it might mean for the market as we head into the new year. How did it change the “consensus” opinion for what will happen to interest rates? And most importantly, what happens if that consensus is wrong? This may be a topic we talk a lot about this year!

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-what-if-the-consensus-is-wrong/