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Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Bitcoin has gained credibility over the past three years, but I believe its use as a currency, a diversifier or an inflation hedge is a bit off the mark.
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The last time I wrote about bitcoin was back in December 2017. Back then there was a lot of excitement around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies because both the Chicago Board Options Exchange and CME Group had begun offering bitcoin futures. Investors were excited about this opportunity, sending up the price of a single bitcoin thousands of dollars higher over the several previous weeks.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Investment Commentary: Stocks remain quiet. For now.
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Results were mixed across broad-based indexes, split between modest gains and losses for the holiday-shortened week of trading. Energy and financials each added 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively, while technology, health care and utilities lagged.
Fixed Income Insights
Chart Talk: Opportunities in Municipal Bonds and Global Fixed Income Flip Book: 4Q 2020
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The what, why and how of the municipal and global fixed income markets.
Fixed Income Insights
Weekly Fixed Income Commentary: Treasury yields drift higher despite soft consumer data
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U.S. Treasury yields ended last week higher, led by longer maturities. Yields declined early in the week, due to dovish Fed comments and weaker than expected consumer price data. However, Thursday’s soft 30-year Treasury auction reversed the momentum and yields began to climb, more than offsetting declines.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: As we enter a new lunar year, the Fed reiterates its stance on inflation and stimulus.
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We have just begun a new lunar year — the Year of the Ox. I think we are all happy to have said goodbye to the Year of the Rat — although I suppose we should have known this last lunar year was going to be bad because the Year of the Rat is traditionally considered to be a year of turbulence in which change or disaster can happen. Interestingly, the rat and the ox have an unusual relationship.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Investment Commentary: Markets continue to rise, but so do inflation risks
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U.S. equities added to 2021 gains last week, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 again reaching intra-week record highs. This performance corresponded with a steady VIX reading in the relatively low mid-20s. Sector returns were mixed, led by energy and technology, which added 4.9% and 2.3%, respectively, while utilities lost 1.5%.
Market Outlooks
Global Markets Weekly Update: February 8, 2021
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Review the performance of global stock and bond markets over the past week, along with relevant insights from T. Rowe Price economists and investment professionals.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Market Compass: Has "irrational exuberance" gotten the better of markets?
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Well, let me try to answer that question based on my own experience. I entered the financial services industry in late 1995, a bright-eyed and eager runaway from the practice of law. Not soon afterward, I listened intently to a historic speech by then-Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, who suggested that the stock market was exhibiting “irrational exuberance.
Market Outlooks
Weekly Investment Commentary: U.S. equities rebound as investors focus on fundamentals
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In a reversal from last week, U.S. equities experienced their best week since November 2020. Losses due to the volatility surrounding GameStop headlines were completely erased, as the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 all reached record highs. All 11 sectors experienced gains, 10 advancing by greater than 2%, with six advancing almost 5% or more.