Montgomery Community Media

The U.S. economy has been in growth mode since 2009, and many investors have been anticipating significant interest-rate increases. This may be a logical expectation because, historically, the Fed has raised rates to slow down the risk of inflation during market expansions. Our current economic growth, as measured by GDP, is greater than 2.5%, and […]

The markets continue to climb a wall of worry with only the spectre of fire and fury from a fierce conflict with North Korea dampening the enthusiasm for stocks. Interestingly, as of August 14th the South Korean stock market, as measured by the KOSPI index, was up over 16% for the past year (Source: Bloomberg), […]

Despite incredible political acrimony, mudslinging, and some seeming chaos in the new administration, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“the Dow”) managed to rise about 14% from Election Day to February 28. While there have been gradual increases to the underlying economy and corporate profits that pre-date the election, three possible reasons for the recent stock […]

After some August doldrums, September is witnessing a return to higher stock market volatility.  While it’s probably prudent for long-term investors to stay the course and not get too fancy with market timing, for those with shorter time horizons or lower risk tolerances it might be prudent to carefully examine what is inside their investment […]

To raise or not to raise? That has been the question for most of the past few years if you are a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is the arm of the Federal Reserve Bank that votes on the direction of interest rates. The challenge is that while the […]

To raise or not to raise? That has been the question for most of the past few years if you are a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is the arm of the Federal Reserve Bank that votes on what they want to do with interest rates. The challenge is […]

The Markets:  The U.S. investment market’s mid-year report card is a mixed picture. Bonds continue to do well while stocks continue to be flat to down year to date. All those who said interest rates couldn’t go any lower and avoided the bond market, continue to miss a nice rally. Of course, the high yield bond […]

The Markets:  Have you seen the 35% rally? Typically a monstrous 35% price movement in just over three months would grab major headlines if it was for stock prices or even interest rates. But this price movement in oil prices hasn’t created a lot of buzz. While there may not be front page headlines on […]