Falling inflation hasn’t yet translated into good feelings among US consumers. Based on the latest data, that might be changing.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, without conveying any urgency to start cutting rates in the next few months. David Zahn, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income’s Head of European Fixed Income, weighs in on the implications for investors—and why lengthening duration may make sense.

Jeff and Ron Muhlenkamp provide a recap of 2023 and look at the state of the economy at the start of 2024. They also explain their reason behind why they have significant portfolio holdings in certain industries.

As the stock market hit all-time highs this past week, there remains an interesting disconnect from the more dour economic concerns of the average American. A recent survey by Axios, a left-leaning website that supports the current Administration, addressed this issue.

During the macroeconomic segment of its 2024 edition, participants in DoubleLine Round Table Prime among other issues debate the seeming failure of the most telegraphed recession in history to materialize in 2023, the intersection of Federal Reserve policy with a presidential election year and deep changes in the economy post-2020.

A recent report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that AI will affect almost two out of every five jobs done by humans around the world. AI of course will impact work that is already somewhat or totally automated.

The fourth quarter of 2023 was a more favorable environment for active managers in the UK, Europe, Emerging Markets, U.S. Small Cap and Listed Infrastructure, while being more challenging for U.S. Large Cap, Global, Global ex-U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, Long/Short and Global Real Estate managers.

Interest rates in most parts of the world appear to be stabilizing, as inflation trends continue to decline from the high levels seen in the summer of 2022. Learn more about the implications for hedge fund strategies from K2 Advisors.

While interest rates have presumably peaked, we remain skeptical that rate cuts will be delivered as forcefully as the market expects.

This dividend aristocrat has increased their dividend for 67 consecutive years. How’s that for reliability? But the best part is it’s finally in the cheap buy range for value investors.

Mega-cap tech-related names (MAGMAN) drove equity returns in 2023. However, heading into 2024 market consensus expected returns to broaden to other equity sectors and market cap sizes.

Despite several physical gold ETFs on the market seeing strong outflows and spot Bitcoin ETFs stealing market share, gold miner ETFs haven’t necessarily faced the same problem of outflows.

In thinking about the 2020s, I often find myself looking back to the 1920s. That decade began with a deep recession/depression and ended with a stock market crash. While we now see the 1920s as a kind of “in between” period, people at the time didn’t know another depression and war were coming.

A new report by BMO Capital Markets suggests that the price of gold is no longer being driven by real interest rates. What replaced them? I unveil the answer below.

Many investors buy individual bonds as a means to preserve their wealth. They can serve as a method to balance growth assets (such as stocks).

While 2023 was the year of Fed rate hikes, the fixed income market is expecting 2024 to be the year of rate cuts. At the December 2023 meeting, the Federal Reserve’s own guidance was for three 25 basis point reductions in 2024.

Investors who wait too long to get off the sidelines may find they’ve missed out.

Bitcoin has fallen below $40,000 after rising to just under $50,000 before the spot bitcoin ETF launch. Many investors expected this to be the beginning of a price rally that would be extended later this year through the halving event and take us to prices seen in 2021.

Credit quality in the muni market likely has peaked, but we believe states' strong rainy-day funds and other attributes will lend stability in the near term.

The expectation of higher corporate earnings in 2024 could help prop up the actively managed NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (SPYI). Of course, capital markets are brimming with optimism, with the expectation of rate cuts to come.

Registered investment advisors have long leaned on the 60% equities/40% fixed income portfolio structure. While it’s not perfect, it has served clients well, broadly speaking.

The BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation ETF (DYNF) is approaching its fourth birthday. The active ETF outperformed the S&P 500 over the past one- and three-year periods.

Defensive equity strategies that limit downside losses but lag too much in up-markets may be missing the mark. Is there another way to reduce volatility?

Amid expectations that the worst case scenario for interest rates this year is that the Federal Reserve will halt its tightening cycle, some fixed income investors may be inclined to take their eyes of floating rate notes (FRNs).

After 2023's price cuts and tougher competition, Tesla is set to report late Wednesday. Lower demand and a big, one-time jump in used EVs could drive a very different 2024.

The economy slowed substantially in the last quarter of 2023 from the rapid pace of the third quarter, but, as we explain below, still expanded at a moderate rate.

Following a period of relatively calm asset markets from 2013-2019, in which the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) averaged just below 15, volatility in asset markets has returned¹ and investors have been looking for ways to protect themselves.

The anticipation of rate cuts to come this year is making for a busy bond month to start 2024. Now, regional banks are adding to corporate bond sales, according to data from Bank of America. 

When markets are volatile, it's tempting to move into cash. But those high yields on short-term cash instruments aren't as attractive once taxes and inflation are factored in.

The markets never fail to keep us guessing, but this year has shown even more evidence that predicting markets is a fool's game. What's in store for 2024? We have some ideas...

Implications for credit investors.

There will be a lot of firsts for the economic history books if this business cycle can survive a labor market slowdown, 525 basis points (bps) of rate hikes and an extremely inverted U.S. Treasury yield curve.

The Federal Reserve is expected to make interest rate cuts this year. But representatives from the U.S. central bank are sending the message that the cuts won’t be coming soon.

While the S&P 500's all-time high hasn't been accompanied by other parts of the market (notably, small caps), further gains are possible if breadth firms up.

Despite its original stated goal, US antitrust policy has always been used merely to ensure the free entry of competitors into all markets, rather than to address the problem of market power. But in the age of Big Tech, this approach has become woefully inadequate.

Improve your income potential with a tactical, unconstrained strategy that sources opportunities across geographies and asset classes. BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Fund takes a risk-first approach while seeking to deliver a consistently attractive yield.

As we get ready to review the Q4 earnings report, stocks have rallied sharply over the last two months

Gold has long been known as a safe haven and diversifying asset that investors turn to in times of economic and geopolitical distress. Last year was just such a year, with gold drawing the attention of investors of all stripes.

Today, VettaFi’s groundbreaking financial services conference Exchange rang the Nasdaq bell in Times Square. Exchange is slated to start on February 11 in Miami, Florida.

Bank loan income may decline if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. That doesn't mean investors should avoid them altogether, but it's important to understand the risks.

Last Friday, Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas joined VettaFi vice chairman Tom Lydon and head of research Todd Rosenbluth for the VettaFi Cryptocurrency Symposium to talk about the launch of the first spot bitcoin ETFs the day before.

Financial advisors are gearing up for a successful year and preparing for client reviews. We offer four actionable ideas and practices to help advisors address some key concerns many investors are having about the year ahead.

This week saw the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Top researchers join public and private sector leaders to explore the issues facing the world. Every year features an outlook for key risks; this year, the risks felt less hypothetical than they might have in calmer times.

Investor sentiment toward China has soured after a tough year for the economy and stock market. But the painful economic transition is also creating real opportunity.

After initial optimism at the start of 2023 spurred strong performance, munis subsequently struggled as the Fed continued its tightening policy, raising fed fund rates to 5.25%−5.50%, before pausing in September.

Treasury yields have steadily climbed since the start of the year, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising back to 4.16% after reaching a low of 3.79% in late December.

January 2024 is likely to be remembered for the strong launch of 10 new spot bitcoin ETFs and the uplisting of the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC).

Warren Buffett regularly reminds his shareholders that interest rates are a gravitational pull to stock prices. History shows that the movement of stock prices and interest rates don’t necessarily happen simultaneously but play out over time.

There are about 44 million American men between the ages of 25 and 44, a time of life which is traditionally associated with high rates of employment. Yet members of this cohort are much less likely to be working than they were 20 years ago.

The negative side of the strong increase in mortgage rates has fallen on those who did not have a home before the start of the increase in rates and on the ability of those Americans to purchase a home.