Corporate Bond Spreads

“No amount of sophistication is going to allay the fact that all your knowledge is about the past and all your decisions are about the future.”

The extreme performance divergence between sectors on the receiving side of the stimulus is stunning. The businesses best positioned to benefit from spending by the upper and upper-middle class are thriving — just look at the share prices of your favorite credit card company; they are at all-time highs. Those most sensitive to interest rates and, thereby, the worst positioned for tight monetary policy are or soon will be flirting with bankruptcy. If you look at commercial real estate owners and their lending banks, you’ll see that their share prices are at all-time lows.

“No amount of sophistication is going to allay the fact that all your knowledge is about the past and all your decisions are about the future.” Read More »

“The health of nations is more important than the wealth of nations.”

The U.S. Stock market reached an all-time high!
On the week: The Dow rose 1.5%. It is up 2.56% in 2024 to 38,654. The S&P 500 closed- up 1.4%. It is up 3.96% for 2024 to 4,958.The Nasdaq gained 1.7%. to 15,628. It is up 2.56% for 2024 to 15,628.
Last week marked the 4th week in a row of gains for the major benchmarks. Stocks have rallied 13 out of 14 weeks. The only down week was the first week of January. This is a serious Bull-snorting rally.
The catalyst for the gains were Big Cap Tech earnings, stronger employment growth, and rising optimism for growth even with a steady Fed, which left rates unchanged (5.50%) at its first meeting of the year. Traders have already taken the March Rate cut off the table.

“The health of nations is more important than the wealth of nations.” Read More »