At the start of every calendar year, we see the major financial institutions providing their ‘outlook’ for the markets. Usually, the outlooks are hedged by not being too divergent from consensus, but nonetheless, they all must predict something, knowing that if their thesis comes true, they can lay claim to have made the right call.
Happy New Year! The end of the year is all about reflection and the beginning of the year is all about looking forward. With that spirit in mind, today is a good day to think about looking ahead and what that means in finance.
Last Thursday was the largest single day gain (+5.54%) for the S&P 500 Index since 2020. The Nasdaq Composite (+7.35%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+3.69%) had similarly high-flying performance. So, what happened on Thursday, what should we take away from it, and what does that mean going forward?
Yet another Market Outlook with a thousand moving parts. Patience is paramount now as we wait for each part to find its spot in this machine we call an economy. Right now, inflation is the problem, and interest
rates are the wrench of choice. The challenge is how hard will the wrench have to be torqued to get the desired results? Will the lug nut break, requiring a modified approach? Perhaps. In the end, we believe patience will be rewarded, and the laws of economic theory will eventually play out.
Earlier this week the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was completely shut down by Russian gas company Gazprom. This pipeline is the largest source of natural gas to Europe.
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