First and foremost, our thoughts are with all of those that were impacted by Hurricane Dorian over the Labor Day holiday and all those that are still in its path.

Many have asked us what stocks tend to do after a major hurricane hits the United States. Given we had category 4 and 5 hurricanes last year, this question unfortunately seems to come up more than anyone would like.

“Although the devastation a major hurricane causes can’t be denied, it is worth noting that equity markets have taken the storms in stride,” explained LPL Financial Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “In fact, a month

We recently reduced our year-end forecast range for the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield from 2.5–2.75% to 1.75–2%. This significant reduction reflects what we consider the many somewhat curious aspects of the domestic and global macroeconomic environments. Trade uncertainty, low inflation, geopolitical risks, monetary policy, and relative valuation all played a role in our decision. To be sure, delayed prospects for a U.S.-China trade agreement remain central to our economic and market projections in the coming months.

We expect the combination of a softer economic growth outlook with mild U.S. inflationary pressures and

August has a reputation as a volatile month, and it sure delivered this year. After nearly two months without a 1% close higher or lower for the S&P 500 Index, market turbulence re-surfaced in August.  Over the past month, we’ve not only seen the worst three days of the year, but many 1% swings in both directions.

The good news is August is finally coming to a close, but the bad news is that September is next. Since 1950, September has been the worst month for the S&P 500 Index, which has dropped an average of 0.5% during the month. September’s track record has been a little better recently: Over the past

World trade volumes contracted in June and the second quarter as the United States-China trade conflict impacted the amount of goods crossing borders. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, trade has contracted for three consecutive quarters.

This is not too surprising given the current trade environment. The slowdown in global trade has been significant since President Trump first slapped tariffs on washing machines in February 2018, and followed up with tariffs on Chinese imports in March 2018. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, Global Trade Has Slowed Significantly, world trade volumes have tumbled from 5-6% annual growth to a sl