Trade War 2.0 Primer (Needed Context)

What’s in Today’s Report: U.S. Trade Primer (Needed Context for Trade War 2.0)

Gold Has Been One of the Best Stock Market Hedges So Far in 2014

Although it’s not a traditional stock market hedge, the facts don’t lie:  Gold has been an effective equity hedge so far in 2014.  First, gold is up 8.53% versus 1.96% for the S&P 500.  Second, during times of market turmoil, gold has traded well.  During the three drops in the stock market this year ( […]

Your Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet 5.5.14

A Look Back at last week’s critical economic data and a look ahead at what’s important this week.

The Economy: A Look Back and What’s Ahead

Last Week Economic data last week importantly confirmed that the weakness we saw in December/January was weather-related and temporary. The decent March PMIs and jobs report likely put to bed any major concerns about the U.S. economy losing steam.  But, given the trend of February data, last week’s data merely confirmed what was widely assumed, […]

The Economy: A Look Back and What’s Ahead (3.24.14)

The major question for the market remains: “Was the slowdown in economic activity in Dec/Jan largely the result of the awful weather?” Last week the February and March data further implied the answer is “Yes,” and that’s a good thing for the stock market.