The Markets (as of market close October 25, 2019) Solid corporate earnings reports and encouraging signs on the trade war front spurred stocks higher last week. The S&P 500 reached its second highest closing value by last Friday, while the Dow is nearing a record high. Word came from government officials last Friday that progress had been made in negotiations with China on the first phase of a potential trade agreement between the two economic giants. Of the indexes listed he

The Markets (as of market close October 18, 2019) For the second week in a row, each of the benchmark indexes listed here (except for the Dow) posted gains last week. Stocks got a boost from some strong third-quarter earnings reports as several large financial institutions recorded strong earnings. The S&P 500 came close to reaching its record high earlier in the week, while the small caps of the Russell 2000 surged ahead by more than 1.50%. Long term Treasuries saw yields fa

The Markets (as of market close October 11, 2019) Last week, President Trump said the United States and China had reached a "substantial, phase-one" agreement to resolve the trade war between the economic giants. Essentially, the United States agreed to hold off on the imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese imports, while China agreed to ramp up the purchase of U.S. agricultural products. Buoyed by the prospects of a further trade accord, investors dove into the market,

The Markets (as of market close October 4, 2019) Stocks and long-term bond yields fell again last week as fears of an economic slowdown, both here and abroad, worried investors. Despite a solid labor report, unfavorable reports from domestic and global manufacturers, and an expanding trade deficit apparently shook investors. Of the benchmark indexes listed here, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a weekly gain, bolstered by gains in information technology shares. The Global Do