FIRESIDE CHARTS
Stocks Taking a Hit, Omicron Impacting Inflation, and Will Tensions Overseas Effect Markets?
January 2022 has certainly started with a bang. While volatility is normal in markets, we want to explore some of the “whys”. Global PMIs retreat as Omicron does its thing. How many Americans are out…
BCM 4Q21 Market Commentary: The Speculative Fever is Breaking
We’d like to start by wishing our readers a happy and healthy New Year. When we wrote our last quarterly letter the U.S. was in the midst of a wave in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant. At the time…
Effects of Rising Rates on Stocks, Manufacturing Takes a Hit, and Pre- vs. Post-Pandemic Test Scores
What effect will a 1% rise in rates have on your portfolio? A look at rate increases and their effects on equity markets. We hope you refinanced your mortgage as mortgage rates follow suit. Is the sell-off…
Inflation Admittedly Not Transitory, Energy Volatility and Effects of Rising Yields
Is the Fed behind the curve? It wouldn’t be the first time! Recently they started admitting that many of the inflationary inputs are not transitory. We show you some reasons why. If inflation is here for…
Money Supply Spikes, Inflation Puts Pressure on Wages and Profits, and Global Bond Yields Keep Rising
The press talks about inflation, we’ve included some data to ponder and share. Will the negative bond yields in Europe and elsewhere quickly turn into a relic? An update on the U.S. bond yield curve after…
Most (But Not All) Supply Bottlenecks Ease, More on China’s Fixed Income and Equity Markets, and the S&P 500’s Response to Fed
Supply chain bottlenecks are showing some signs of easing except the most important one. Some updates on what is happening in China—will it spill over to the U.S.? What are the other effects of Covid…
Interest rates are (finally) rising, U.S. Leads Natural Gas Exports, and A Look at U.S. Equities Over the Last Decade
Happy New Year! It looks like the bond markets finally woke up to reality last week. How far and how fast will yields rise? The Fed regional manufacturing surveys were mixed last month but solidly in growth…
U.S. Services and Manufacturing Near Pre-Covid Levels, How Inflation Affects Tech, and Omicron Impact on Yield Curve
While Covid caused an economic plummet and a subsequent surge, U.S. Services and manufacturing have largely returned to pre-covid levels. How does tech get affected by inflation? Speaking of inflation, what…
PPI Serves as a Warning for CPI, A Look at Rates after Fed Meeting, and Omicron Eclipses Delta Variant
The latest on the Fed and inflation…what is driving their decisions? A great historical look on why equities, despite their risks, belong in a portfolio. Just why is/was Tesla valued at more than every other…
China’s Real Estate Turmoil, Today’s Inflation vs. the ‘70’s, and Today’s Markets Undo 50+ Years of Financial Planning
Is there a growing storm in China’s Real Estate market? Is it their 2007-08? With the Fed scheduled to meet, we offer some updates on inflation. How does the current inflationary environment compare to the…