Economy & Markets

At its September meeting, the Federal Open Markets Committee kept rates unchanged with a target range of 5.25% to 5.50%, in a decision that was widely anticipated by investors. Still, markets responded negatively with bond yields jumping to levels not seen since 2007...

For patient investors with time horizons of years and decades, the primary drivers of portfolio returns are not day-to-day market fluctuations but the business cycle and other longer-term trends...

Financial markets have pulled back in recent weeks due to factors such as rising interest rates and uncertainty in China. So far in August, the S&P 500 has declined 4.8% while the Nasdaq, which consists primarily of technology stocks, has fallen 7.4%.

Despite the economic uncertainty of the past year, everyday individuals and households have been resilient. Consumer spending has remained steady in the face of high inflation, rising interest rates, housing market challenges, and layoffs in sectors such as tech.

Market and economic expectations have shifted 180 degrees since the start of the year when many investors expected a recession and prolonged bear market.

At its June meeting, the Fed decided to hit pause on rate hikes after more than a year of rapid monetary policy tightening. Since last March, the Fed has raised rates 10 times from zero to 5%, making this the second-fastest rate hike cycle in history.

Investors have grappled with market and economic challenges this year ranging from Fed uncertainty, stubbornly high inflation, the possibility of a recession, a banking crisis, the debt ceiling, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and more.

The federal debt limit is once again in the news as the country rapidly approaches a critical deadline on June 1. Investors are understandably nervous about Washington failing to reach an agreement. How can investors maintain the right perspective around political and fiscal uncertainty?

On the morning of May 1, it was announced that First Republic Bank had been taken over by the FDIC and sold to JPMorgan Chase. With ongoing banking turmoil creating market and economic uncertainty, how can long-term investors navigate the months ahead?

The corporate earnings season for the first quarter is underway and about one-fifth of S&P 500 companies have reported results.

The U.S. dollar has been in the headlines due to an anticipated pause in Fed policy and concerns over the currency's place in the global financial system.

Equity markets, using the S&P 500 index return as a proxy, at first glance appear to have shrugged off the mid-month drama of multiple domestic, regional bank failures and the forced sale of a massive Swiss bank.