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Fund Fact

Chips and No Dips

Last Week It was chips without any dips as the market snapped its two-week losing streak. The party started Monday anticipating the annual GTC conference hosted by Nvidia, Wall Street’s AI chip darling. The company did not disappoint investors with a highly upbeat...

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Pretty, Pretty Good

Modestly Dovish The Fed is still talking (seemingly every day) about when it should cut rates, as the evidence shows that the economy is still holding steady. The suddenly not-so-magnificent Tesla had a bad day on Monday, and Nvidia finally had a bad day on Friday....

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Like a Bull

Sound Shape In weather parlance, March is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. For the stock market, March came in like a bull! The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh record highs, primarily driven by tech stocks with a kiss from some...

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Chips and Dips

Last Week: Insatiable Demand We could call it another serving of chips and dips, with Nvidia providing the tasty chips and dips coming from continued Fed policy concerns. The markets were closed on Monday and treaded water on Tuesday and Wednesday. Still, the major...

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Rate Cut Shadow

Leading the Charge The good news continued to roll in from corporate earnings and U.S. economic data, somewhat offset by another dose of modestly hawkish jawboning from Chairman Powell and his merry band of Federal Reserve Governors. On the earnings front, strong...

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No Tears in Economic Data

Elite Six Stocks were positive for the week as more Goldilocks economic data fueled investor optimism. Earlier in the week, the U.S. gross domestic product came at a 3.3% clip in last year's fourth quarter, much stronger than the expected 2% gain. On Friday, the...

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Cooling Off

Tepid Start Stocks edged higher for the week as tame inflation reports drove bond yields lower and restored investor confidence that the Fed would soon be cutting interest rates. The PPI fell 0.1% in December amid declining costs for goods such as diesel fuel and...

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A Sober Start to 2024

Market Hangover Investors seem to sober up following the nine-week-long stock market party that closed out 2023, as the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.2%, and the Russell 2000 sank 3.8% in holiday-shortened trading. Declining issues almost...

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Not an Investor Was Stirring

Conventional Wisdom Twas the week after Christmas and trading was light. Stocks traded higher with a record in sight. The Goldilocks economy overcame the doomsayers' fears. The Santa Claus rally kept rolling right into the New Year. The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, the...

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The Bulls are Back

A Recession That Never Was For most of 2023, the consensus amongst the talking heads of the market was that there was an impending recession and that interest rates would stay higher for longer to combat stubborn inflation. On the other hand, the economic data kept...

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Santa Claus Rally

Clear Path to Cuts The foundation of the bear case for the economy and the financial markets during 2022 and 2023 was the “higher for longer” mantra from the Federal Reserve. In other words, the Fed’s tight monetary policy would lead to a deep recession before...

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Jolting Higher

Healthy Equilibrium The data from the Labor Department further illuminated an economy on a path back to normal conditions, otherwise known as the soft-landing proposition. On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, showed that U.S. job...

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You Get What You Need

  Long and Winding The S&P 500 reached its highest level in more than a year on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that interest rates have peaked. “We’re getting what we wanted to get, we now have the ability to move carefully,” which...

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Tasty Turkey Trading

Turbocharged The stock market provided additional reasons for investors to be thankful, as the rally continued for the fourth straight week. The S&P 500 tacked on 1%, the Nasdaq gained 0.9%, the Russell 2000 added 0.5%, and all the sectors except Oil & Gas...

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Goldilocks at the Thanksgiving Table

Wild Ride We would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. At North Star, we are deeply thankful for our wonderful clients that we have the pleasure and honor of serving. We are also thankful for the potential return to the “not too hot and not too cold”...

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Fed Seesaw

Laundry List There has been a laundry list of factors that have heavily influenced the trends in the financial markets over the past few years. Topping that list would be the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain disruptions, closely followed by the increasingly...

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It’s a Profit Deal

  North Star's Premise Proven Investors finally got a taste of money, tasting much sweeter than wine, as rising corporate earnings and declining interest rates gave the markets a kiss. The bond market benefitted from slightly soft employment data, particularly...

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Dark Clouds

Margin Call Stocks staged a modest rally on Monday, only to see mounting losses Tuesday through Friday, adding up to the worst week in a month for the market. The S&P skidded 2.4%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.2%, and the Russell 2000 slid 2.3%, with declining...

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Dark Days Drive Markets

  Depressed Levels The market action was primarily driven by the horrific events in the Israel-Hamas war, with a mixed performance from stocks while investors sought safe-haven assets such as U.S. Treasury bonds and gold. Defense and Energy sector shares rallied,...

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Market Bends as September Ends

  A Dedication to Mickey Lefton “As my memory restsBut never forgets what I lostWake me up when September ends.” Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong penned those lyrics inspired by the grief he felt over the death of his father when he was a young boy....

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