Upbeat as Expected

Companies remained generally upbeat during the third quarter earnings season, based on the LPL Research Corporate Beige Book Barometer. This is hardly surprising, given actual earnings results were good again and estimates of fu

Double-Digit Returns?

Back to business: fundamentals to drive stock market gains in 2018. With a focus on business fundamentals and the impact of fiscal policy, the return of the business cycle means that earnings growth may have to shou

Corporate America delivered another outstanding earnings season. S&P 500 Index earnings are tracking to an 8.2% year-over-year increase for the third quarter with just a handful of companies left to report. Excluding the impact of hurricanes with

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Election Day victory. The period since the president was elected has been one of the best ever for U.S. stock markets. The 28.5% rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) one

Master limited partnership (MLP) weakness appears overdone. The Alerian MLP Index has lost 9.3% in 2017 year to date, well behind the S&P 500 Index’s 17.5% return and even the energy sector’s 6.3% loss. More recent performance is part

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

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

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash in what has come to be known as Black Monday. The Dow plunged more than 22% on that day — the equivalent of a more than 5,000-point drop today — while markets around the

Third quarter earnings season gets underway this week (October 9–13) and it should be another good one. The S&P 500 Index has exceeded earnings expectations 33 straight quarters and we see no reason why the third quarter won’t make it

Last week’s tax proposal presented real progress. For much of this year we have been espousing what has felt like a minority view — that Republicans would reach some sort of tax agreement in early 2018. After last week, that view may have