Blog

  Something happened last week in capital markets that might suggest a significant shift with investors thinking. The market sold off despite some very strong economic news all week—until Friday. Consumer credit expanded by 18.2 billion in October, which was the largest… More >>

  At this stage of a bull market cycle we start to see investor behavior trump reason and logic. One of the most common behaviors/mistakes investors make is to chase valuations. They start to buy when in fact they should err on the side of caution. As I wrote last week,… More >>

  This week marked another week in which the major market indexes hit all-time highs. It’s clear that investors are feeling very good and continue to pour more money into equities. Since the start of October, investors have added $34.2 billion into equity funds, and have… More >>

With so much discussion, debate and concern being expressed by the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, I think it's critical to look at the program and its economic impact in the simplest terms. Here’s Obamacare made easy: It provides a basic… More >>

  The US economy had some reasonably good news last week. US GDP was up 2.85% in the 3rd quarter. It's the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. [i] Further, the monthly employment situation took a surprising turn for the better. The US economy added over 204,000 jobs in… More >>

  Defying Gravity The S&P 500 rallied 4.59% over the last month.This rally continues to mystify conventional thinking— that is, for those that believe market reactions should be conventional. [i] Conventional thinking goes something like this: Earnings continue to… More >>

  The unemployment figures came out last week and they were certainly less than anticipated—an increase of 148,000 in nonfarm payrolls in September compared to the expectation of 185,000. [i] This is troubling and reflects a continuing deterioration of job growth. Take a… More >>

  Multiple Expansion?Weekly Market Commentary 10-21-2013Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company As markets return to "normal" and participants attempt to discount and anticipate future events, it’s worth taking a look at what fundamentally drives value. Earnings growth is… More >>

  Life Goes On!Weekly Market Commentary 10-14-2013Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company We are in full circus mode with Congress doing exactly what we hoped they wouldn't: take the "full faith and credit" of the United States to the brink of its capacity. More >>

  Weekly Market Commentary 10-7-2013 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company As we discussed in last week’s blog, most government shutdowns don't come with extreme long-term consequences. Just take a look at market action for last week. [i] Source: Google Finance… More >>