With Halloween upon us, we continue our tradition of writing about what might scare markets. While too much fear during stressful times for markets can lead to poor investment decisions, some skepticism in strong markets can be healthy. With that in mind, here are five risks that have the potential to scare markets. We also want to point out, however, that these worries do not change our generally positive outlook. We continue to expect further stock gains for this bull market in the coming year, although potentially with an increase in market volatility.

Aging Expansion and Bull Market

The economic expansion officially hit 10

It’s time to take a look at Japan. The Nikkei’s 15-day win streak, its longest on record, has our attention. When thinking about Japan, many who started following markets closely in the 1980s or later know nothing else besides year after year of recession, deflation, and a poorly performing stock market. It’s been a long, slow process but we believe that investing conditions are changing in Japan for the better, making the country’s markets worth a look. This week we discuss five reasons to take a serious look at Japan.

Reason #1: Improving Economy

Economic growth has been improving in Japan with six st

The Calendar Is Ticking on Tax Reform

Along with the holiday anticipation November can bring, it is also historically a bullish time for equities. The S&P 500 Index is on pace to log another gain in October, marking 7 consecutive monthly gains on a price basis and 12 in a row on a total return basis (including dividends). But the incredible strength does have some potential warnings, as the S&P 500 has now gone nearly a full year since the last 3% correction, the longest such streak in history. During the month, multiple central banks are meeting, earnings season will be winding down, and tax reform is entering a critical

Beige Book Suggests Continued Moderate Economic Growth

The latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Beige Book, released Wednesday, October 18, 2017, continued to deliver a positive view of the U.S. economy. The Beige Book is a qualitative assessment of the domestic economy and each of the 12 Fed districts individually. The report is prepared eight times per year, ahead of each Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting — the next of which is set to take place from October 31 to November 1, 2017. We believe that the Beige Book is best interpreted by measuring how key words change over time. The qualitative inputs for the