Insights Investments

The big picture, coming out of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is that inflation has eased considerably since last year, but it remains elevated. As a result, they’re choosing to maintain policy rates where they are (in the 5.25-5.50% range). At the same time, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell believes the disinflation process …

In yesterday’s blog, our chief market strategist Ryan Detrick took a look at “Sell in May and go away” and provided a lot of important insight on what it may mean in current market context. While we’re entering a period of historical seasonal weakness, the seasonals alone aren’t strong enough to drive a change in …

Staying on top of market trends and reviewing investment strategies is crucial for investors looking to optimize their portfolios. What does May look like historically when we look back on previous years? In this episode, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group & Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist at Carson Group, discuss the …

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” – Robin Williams   Buckle up, as the trigger points for one of the most well-known investment axioms, “Sell in May and go away,” is nearly here. This gets a ton of play in the media, as the six months starting in May are indeed the worst …

“Once cars become truly self-driving, they’ll be as revolutionary as the personal computer.” – Bill Gates   Last week, four of the Magnificent Seven – Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Tesla – reported quarterly earnings. This was a litmus test for investors looking to see if these tech behemoths could keep powering the market higher, and …

Headline GDP growth in the first quarter disappointed, but as I pointed out yesterday, underlying growth was actually quite strong. The good news is that the cyclical areas of the economy, namely housing activity and business investment, are seeing strong growth despite the hurdle of higher interest rates. That’s really icing on the cake. The …

The economy grew 1.6% in the first quarter, after adjusting for inflation. This was well below expectations for a 2.5% increase, and significantly below the 3.4% increase we saw in the last quarter of 2024. It also ended a streak of growth above 2% for six consecutive quarters. So, what happened – is growth really …

We’ve written a lot recently (here, here, and here) on the recent backup in yields as Fed Reserve interest rate cuts have been repriced following hotter-than-expected inflation and stronger-than-expected economic growth. Interest rate volatility as measured by the MOVE Index, the VIX’s cousin but for bonds instead of stocks, has also subsequently picked back up …

Market volatility is a constant companion for investors, but understanding the underlying economic indicators can provide a clearer path forward. How do we interpret the recent market pullback? What do the surging yields and inflation data tell us about the future economic outlook? In this episode, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group & …

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Source Unknown   The escalating tension between Israel and Iran has many investors worried about what could happen next. Although we won’t pretend to know the answer, we do understand that while geopolitical events can cause near-term market volatility, they rarely cause …

“Wall Street tends to overreact when it gets worried about earnings” – Michael Price   As we begin to sift through reports from the start of the earnings season, the takeaway message appears to be ‘good but not great.’ Analysts were expecting sluggish growth in the first quarter with sequential acceleration as the year progressed. …