U.S. stocks have staged an impressive rally over the past few months. While we like seeing stocks rise, we’re starting to see signs of overbought conditions and stretched sentiment in market indicators we watch. We still believe in long-term fundamentals, but we think...
Earnings growth was largely absent in 2019, but we expect it to pick up in 2020. With stock valuations elevated, we think earnings hold the key to pushing stocks higher this year. We preview fourth quarter earnings season and share our thoughts on the outlook for...
COMPASS CHANGES Upgraded financials view to neutral/positive from neutral Upgraded industrial metals view to neutral from negative/neutral INVESTMENT TAKEAWAYS Our S&P 500 Index year-end 2020 fair value target range of 3,250–3,300 is based on a price to-earnings...
The United States’ airstrike January 3, 2020, near Baghdad, Iraq, that killed a top Iranian military general was a major escalation in Mideast tensions. Iran’s retaliatory strike January 8 sent a message, but additional responses can’t be ruled out. We discuss what...
ECONOMY: U.S. ECONOMY’S PROMISING END TO 2019 The U.S. economy wrapped up 2019 with a batch of generally promising data as U.S.-China trade tensions died down. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.1% year over year in November, its slowest pace...
