The distinction between federal government spending and the debt ceiling may get confused once again this week as Congress works on another short-term spending resolution. Following a two-week resolution expiring March 18, 2011 that avoided a government shutdown, Congress is expected to agree on a three-week resolution this week. However, the debt ceiling is a [...]

 Do Rising Bond Yields Pose A Problem For Stocks? 
 

After being stuck in a tight range around 3.5% since mid-December, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped higher to 3.65% last week. This rise was in response to the generally stronger economic data and the inflation signal coming from higher commodity prices. The yield on [...]

Snowed Under
Financial market participants will be pulled in several directions this week as January turns into February. Political developments in North Africa and the Middle East are likely to be top of mind this week and serve as a reminder that geopolitics are never too far removed from the headlines. (Please see this week’s Weekly [...]

Jeffrey Kleintop, CFA
Chief Market Strategist
LPL Financial
About $90 billion has been pulled from U.S. stock mutual funds since the “flash crash” on the afternoon of May 6, 2010, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. On that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced the biggest intraday point decline, 998.5 points, in its 114-year history. [...]

Stocks have risen in 12 of the past 15 weeks, including last week’s gains, as the S&P 500 reached the highest level in more than two years. Also, Treasury bond yields have risen nearly a full percentage point to a six–month high, from 2.39% on October 7 to 3.32% on Friday. And, the prices of [...]

Last week, the markets were driven primarily by economic data as stocks and bond yields rose and the dollar fell. This week, in the absence of any high-profile economic data, markets are likely to be driven by news headlines on policy debates, which are not likely to be as favorable for investors.
The economic data from [...]

Last week’s shortened holiday trading was a rough ride as Ireland and North Korea reminded investors that aftershocks of the global financial crisis continue and geopolitical risks are ever present. Later in the week, investors turned their attention to slightly better-than-expected retail sales over the Thanksgiving weekend—the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.
Does Black [...]

This week the attention of most market participants will be on what action Congress takes in their sole week of session for the month of November. The most important item facing Congress is the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Some progress is likely this week with both parties facing a backlash if no [...]

The long-awaited events of last week included the mid-term elections and Federal Reserve (Fed) announcing the details of another stimulus program. Stock market momentum had stalled out in the two weeks leading up to last week as investors held their breath awaiting the outcome. The events unfolded just as the markets had anticipated and mostly [...]

This week may be the most important of the year for the markets. The week starts off with the Monday release of the closely-watched Institute for Supply Management (ISM) report on U.S. manufacturing, followed by the mid-term elections on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, which is expected to reveal the Fed’s plan for [...]