On Sunday, February 9, President Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. These actions are consistent with his campaign promises to protect American industries and reduce the trade deficit through the use of tariffs. These new tariffs are in addition to the 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese imports that went into effect on February 4, reinforcing his administration’s tough stance on trade with China. Further, there is the looming threat of 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, which have currently been delayed until March 4. This leaves some questions up in the air about if these tariffs will come in the

Stocks continued to climb the wall of worry last week and shrugged off tariff headlines, inflation volatility, and signs of a slowdown in retail spending. President Trump reinstated a full 25% tariff on all steel imports — effectively closing any loopholes and exemptions — and increased the tariffs on aluminum imports to 25%. Most metals rallied on the news as fear over forthcoming tariffs on a broader range of metals sparked a surge in demand. The White House also announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on a country-by-country basis to “correct longstanding imbalances in international trade and ensure fairness across t

Equity markets are off to a solid start in 2025. Despite an array of headline risks, the S&P 500 has climbed over 3% on the year and even notched a record high last month. Within the index, returns have also become more dispersed, pointing to a growing opportunity set for active management.  

The rising dispersion in returns and relatively low correlation among S&P 500 stocks has become increasingly apparent on the CBOE S&P 500 Dispersion Index and the CBOE One-Month Implied Correlation Index. The dispersion index compares the prices of S&P 500 constituent stock options and S&P 500 index options to q

Key Takeaways

• Annual inflation accelerated up to 3.0% in January from 2.9% in the previous reading. 

• Shelter costs rose 0.4% in January, accounting for nearly a third of the headline increase. 

• Energy prices rose 1.1% over the month from the rise in gas prices. 

• Bird flu was a major factor in hotter food inflation, causing egg prices to rise 15.2%, the largest increase in roughly a decade and pushing annual prices up 53%.  

• Large numbers of underinsured and uninsured drivers have impacted the auto insurance market. The motor vehicle insurance index rose 2.0%