Is the Stock Market Dead?

Is the Stock Market Dead? Navigating the private markets amid a shrinking universe of public companies   For generations, the stock market has provided a pathway to the American dream. Millions of families have saved and invested in public companies, and as those businesses have grown, they’ve purchased homes, started their own businesses, sent their […]
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Photo Finish

Photo Finish There are a few stock market sayings that drive me crazy. One is ‘The stock market likes certainty’. I always ask, who doesn’t? Wouldn’t you like to know exactly what is going to happen? I sure would. Has that ever happened? Of course not! The market may like certainty, but certainty never exists. […]
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The Verdict

The Verdict Last week we mentioned the Wall Street adage ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ and wondered how markets would react to the first rate cut. The answer still isn’t clear. On Wednesday, the market swung wildly right after the 50 bps rate cut was announced. That is typical right after a Fed announcement, […]
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Things Are Not Always as They Appear

Things Are Not Always as They Appear There is an old saying about Wall Street prognosticators: Often Wrong, Never in Doubt. The first problem with prognostications is that they are typically very short-term oriented. The second problem is that they often hide counterintuitive facts. The third problem is they contain their own behavioral biases. Since […]
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It Was a New Day Yesterday

It Was a New Day Yesterday… But it’s an old day now (with apologies to Jethro Tull). Financial markets are dominated by cycles. In 2023, the Magnificent 7 dominated the stock market. Those seven stocks had a terrific year, while the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 collectively struggled to keep their heads above […]
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Pre-emptive Pivot

Pre-emptive Pivot The news this week was the Fed (again) with the surprise change of anticipating rate cuts. Nick Timiraos, the so called ‘Fed Whisperer’ at the Wall Street Journal wrote about Chair Powell’s comments: “Dec 1: ‘It would be premature to … speculate on when policy might ease.’ Dec 13: Rate cuts are something […]
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And the Winner Is…

And the Winner Is… I read an interesting article on Morningstar that compares Cisco and NVIDIA, asking if Cisco’s fall from grace will be repeated by NVIDIA. The simple answer is – Yes, of course it will. The difficult question is when that will happen. Back at the peak of the internet bubble, as we transitioned […]
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