Bond prices are influenced by factors that can be different from stocks. In the past two years, bonds have been hurt by sharply higher interest rates caused by the Federal Reserve as it moved to constrain high inflation. (When interest rates go up, bond prices go down.) More recently, analysts expected the Fed to begin …Read More

Stocks gained in the first three months of 2024, continuing a good run that began in November 2023. For the first quarter of 2024: US large company stocks, often represented by the S&P 500 index, gained a lot, led by big gains in a few very large technology companies: Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, Amazon, Meta (Facebook), …Read More

All categories of stocks were up substantially in 2023 (chart). US large company stocks ended the year up 26.3%, near a record high. As usual, the path to good year-end returns was not straight. In 2023 it was two steps forward, one step (or two) back. As recently as late October, US mid- and small-company …Read More

Like stocks, all categories of US and international bonds were up in 2023 (chart). Bonds are heavily influenced by inflation and Federal Reserve interest rate actions. Inflation is declining, and the Fed says it may lower rates in 2024. Both are very good news for the bond market. Mortgage rates are declining as well, which …Read More

In many ways, the past three years have been a reaction and recovery from the pandemic that was so devastating in 2020. We had: business shutdowns, labor disruption, supply chain bottlenecks, inflation related to changing spending patterns, pent up money in bank accounts, government stimulus and withdrawal, Federal Reserve action and unwinding that action. Perhaps …Read More