The Weekly Insight

Russia’s war against Ukraine is playing out on two stages: the cities of Ukraine and boardrooms of banks and companies across Russia and the West. As the West has decided not to engage Russia in direct military confrontation, the sanctions battlefield is increasingly important. But is it enough? And what else is on the table? And how will it impact the U.S. markets and economy? We take a deep dive this week to better understand the connection between our economy, sanctions, and the conflict in Ukraine.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-sanctions-game/

It was another volatile week in the markets. Why? Uncertainty. We’ve said it time and again that the market just can’t stand not knowing what’s going to happen.

The good news? There is a time limit on this uncertainty. We’re going to know soon what is going to happen in Ukraine. We’re going to know by March 16th what’s going to happen with interest rates. And right now the market is pricing in the worst case scenario on both issues.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-mark-your-calendars/

Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope you’re able to spend a little time with your loved ones today to celebrate (or, if this is your reminder, are able to run to the flower shop!).

Sadly, not everyone is feeling the love today.  At the top of the list? Pretty much everyone in Ukraine. And the market took notice last Friday when Biden’s National Security Advisor stepped to the podium at the White House Press Room and essentially said “RUN!”. Between that and some rocky inflation data, last week was an interesting ride in the markets.

Read more here:  https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-vlads-valentine/

Families gathered around their TVs this weekend to watch the kickoff to the Winter Olympics – a once every two years opportunity to get behind our country in something we can all agree upon. It’s fun to cheer on Team USA! But it also comes at an interesting time in the world.  The kickoff weekend saw Vladmir Putin and Chairman Xi stand side-by-side and reiterate their shared commitment to standing up to the west. It was a reminder of Olympics gone by during the Cold War. 

It was also an important reminder that not everything that impacts the market is related to interest rates or COVID. World affairs haven’t mattered as much in the last few years, but historically they have had profound effects. As such, we thought it time to dive a little deeper into Putin’s thinking on Ukraine and the impact that may have on the world order.

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-putin-papers/

Last week was likely one of the “busiest” weeks in the market since the start of COVID. There was a lot of drama, most of it tied to the Fed meeting on Wednesday. We saw volatility unlike any we have seen in nearly two years. But the end result? Not much. Markets closed the week up and much of the panic over the Fed’s decisions proved to be unfounded.

Sandwich that inside a month filled with earnings reports (largely positive), rising (and now falling) COVID cases, and the potential for a war in the former Soviet Union, and January was a rollercoaster. In this week’s Weekly Insight we breakdown what that might mean for the market over the coming months.

Link to article referenced:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s8CqV5wwK0yg7g_V36Sgai_EjhiXRyXS/view?usp=sharing

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

There is a great line from the Joker in the movie The Dark Knight (a must watch if you haven’t seen it – but we are about to spoil the ending…). To set the stage, he has two ferries (full of people) filled with explosives. Passengers in each ferry hold the trigger to the other ferry’s explosives. He is trying to prove the point that people will kill indiscriminately to save their own skins.

As the deadline approaches, he looks at Batman and says – rather dramatically – “And. Here. We. Go.”

The only problem? Neither ferry can bring themselves to kill the other. And nothing happens. His plan fails. The message? Despite all our problems, people are inherently good.

Last week was a bit of a “Here we go” week in the markets. We had some exceedingly popular stocks take a big tumble. The NASDAQ officially entered correction territory (down 10% from its high). Famous investor Jeremy Grantham declared the end of the bull market. Shares of growth favorite Peloton collapsed.

But while markets are not inherently good or bad, there are good and bad assets. And while there is a lot of drama happening in the markets, there are fundamentally sound aspects of it that are worth remembering when have periods of volatility like we are seeing today.

Read more here:  insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-here-we-go/