Research & News
Asset Allocation Bi-Weekly – The Problem of Financial Conditions (May 31, 2022)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF Among the financial pundit class, there has been a growing call to weaken financial conditions. What are financial conditions? They include credit spreads, the level of interest rates, the level of equities, the level of market volatility, the dollar’s exchange rate, etc. Weaker financial conditions mean that borrowing… Read More »
Daily Comment (May 27, 2022)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] | PDF Good morning! U.S. equities continue to rally as investors no longer fear that the Fed will become more hawkish. Additionally, a drop in mortgage rates and a strong performance from retailers have boosted investor sentiment. Today’s report begins with the rising popularity… Read More »
Daily Comment (May 26, 2022)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] | PDF Good morning! Today’s report begins with a summary of the Fed meeting minutes and other central bank news. Next, we discuss the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war. Afterward, we go over the pushback regarding China’s zero-COVID strategy and the possibility of… Read More »
Weekly Energy Update (May 26, 2022)
by Bill O’Grady, Thomas Wash, and Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF Crude oil prices have been mostly holding steady this week. (Source: Barchart.com) Crude oil inventories fell 1.0 mb compared to a 2.1 mb draw forecast. The SPR declined 6.0 mb, meaning the net draw was 7.0 mb. In the details, U.S. crude oil production… Read More »
Daily Comment (May 25, 2022)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] | PDF Our Comment today opens with an update on the Russia-Ukraine war, where Russian forces are now making better gains toward their newly reduced goals. We next review a range of international and U.S. developments with the potential to affect the financial markets. … Read More »
Daily Comment (May 24, 2022)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EDT] | PDF Good morning. After a strong rally off the lows on Friday and impressive follow-through yesterday, risk assets are lower this morning. However, one pattern emerging in the past couple of weeks is that the correlation between stocks and bonds has again become… Read More »
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – Going Nuclear with North Korea (May 23, 2022)
by Thomas Wash | PDF At nearly 5,000 nuclear warheads, Ukraine had one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world on its territory. If Ukraine hadn’t transferred those weapons to Russia in 1996, it is unlikely that Moscow would have invaded. North Korea believes it is facing a similar threat which is why it… Read More »