Market Perspective

Steady Turbulence

Investors are facing many challenges and a new investment landscape. Equity valuations are lower, but not cheap, and volatility levels have shifted higher. On the ...
Read More →

Real Return Conundrum: Between Rocky Volatility & An Inflationary Hard Place

A combination of higher interest rates and signs of slowing growth are putting pressure on valuations. Even with February’s market pullback, the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio ...
Read More →

Is it 1963 or 2002?

As traders and professional prognosticators hang on every word from Federal Reserve officials, anticipate each data release with tense fingers hovering over keyboards and debate ...
Read More →

Option Writing Premiums Were a Bright Spot in a Dark Year for Investors

The Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) monetary policy transition from accommodative to tightening was sudden – asset purchases to support the economy ended in March 2022, ...
Read More →

Away from Zero1 – The Not So Mysterious Case of Higher Interest Rates

If the story of 2022 stock and bond market returns was written as a whodunit, the crack detective protagonist would have a primary suspect list ...
Read More →

Is the Index Option Market Creating Volatility?

Trading volume in S&P 500® Index option contracts set a record in October 2022. As Figure 1 shows, trading volume in options on the bellwether ...
Read More →

Are Equities On Sale?

Savvy shoppers know a “25% Off” sale is not necessarily a good deal. Is the item discounted from a fair price or did the retailer ...
Read More →

Monetary Policy Outlook Shifts Volatility Expectations Higher

Daily closing values for the Cboe® Volatility Index (the VIX®) have been below its long-term average of 19.61 less than 10% of the time so ...
Read More →

Try Not to Think About Elephants

Recession. The “Big R” of economics. One of the more confounding aspects of the word is that just hearing it can cause people to behave ...
Read More →

A New Era?

Wall Street has no shortage of adages and catch phrases. When the equity market hits the skids, old saws such as “be fearful when others ...
Read More →