US stocks have been on a historic run of outperformance relative to international equities dating back to right after the financial crisis of 2008. There are several reasons for this, and a strong argument can be made that part of the reason is due to the inherent structural advantages of the US economy. We are not going to argue against that.

The S&P 500 Index returned 4.49 percent during the second quarter of 2024, following a 10.55 percent return in Q1. The market remains narrow, with the Russell 2000 (small caps) returned only -2.28% over Q2. However, there were signs of broader market participation emerging by the quarter's end...

The S&P 500 Index returned 10.55 percent during the first quarter of 2024 off the heels of an 11.68 percent return in the fourth quarter of last year. This big run up can largely be attributed to the market’s belief that the Federal Reserve is going to start cutting interest rates materially beginning in the first half of this year...

The stock market ended 2023 with one of the best 4th quarters on record. The S&P 500 returned 11.68 percent during the quarter and closed out the year with a return of over 26 percent. However, despite fantastic returns, better than expected economic growth, slowing inflation, and a resilient labor market, among many other positives, why did the year not really feel all that great?...

The third quarter of the year marked the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The leaves are starting to change, and the cooler weather is welcome. The kids are back to school, and we finally have football again. With all the good things that we can point to the markets were there to remind us that, as one of my college football coaches may have said best, “Every day ain’t the Rose Bowl.” ...

It is no question that Americans have seen consistent erosion in their purchasing power over the past 4 years. The Consumer Price Index is designed to track households’ out-of-pocket expenses to form a basis for cost-of-living adjustments...