Blog

Tuesday, June 14th, 2022A bear market is officially here thanks largely to stubbornly high inflation. For many of us, it has probably felt like abear market for a while now, but the S&P 500 Index didn’t close more than 20% below...

Wednesday, May 11th, 20222022 has been a challenging year for investors so far. The S&P 500 Index just had one of its worst Aprils in decades,and May is off to a rocky start. Bond investors have not fared much better as rising interest...

“Bull markets are born on pessimism, grown on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.” - Sir JohnTempletonAccording to the guidance of revered investor Sir John Templeton, it appears to us that this market may...

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 Good riddance to February. It was another negative month for stocks, but the clear headline was Russia invading Ukraine and the potential impacts that would have on the global economy and stock market. First...

Will the Year of the Tiger Make the Bulls Smile? Monday, February 7, 2022 “Bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered.” Old Wall Street saying. The Chinese New Year (often called the Lunar New Year)...

Slowing But Stable Global Growth Outlook  January 20, 2022 Similar to the U.S. Leading Economic Index (LEI) from the Conference Board, we believe global leading indicators can provide useful insight into where economies around...

Weekly Insights Here comes December, historically a pretty solid month for stocks, but now we have the Omicron variant wreaking havoc on markets. “What a difference a week makes. A week ago stocks were at all-time highs and the...

Weekly Insights The incredible bull run of 2021 continues, with the S&P 500 Index only 0.02% away from the 66th all-time high this calendar year, tied with (for now) the 65 set in 1964 and behind only the record 77 set in 1995....

Weekly Insights Index Performance U.S. and International Equities Stocks erased September losses with solid gains in October for the broad market averages. The S&P 500 returned almost 7% for the month, while the Dow Industrials and...

Weekly Insights Index Performance U.S. and International Equities Major U.S. and International Markets Finished Higher The major equity markets finished solidly in the green this week as we head into the genesis of Q3 earnings season....

Weekly Insights U.S. and International Equities Major U.S. and International Markets Finished lower The major equity markets finished the week, along with the month of September, lower. The international markets were also not immune to...

Weekly Insights Fun Fact Friday: The Dow Jones Transportation Average is actually the oldest US stock market index in existence, even older than the more-popular Dow Jones Industrial Average. Charles Dow developed the index, originally...

Daily Insights The term stagflation has been increasingly circulating in the financial media as inflation readings have risen sharply in recent months. The term is often associated with the 1970s which saw runaway...

Daily Insights Lofty expectations for second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth were left somewhat wanting as a decent headline number fell short of expectations. Peering under the hood, though, we think this is still a fairly...

Midyear Outlook 2021 Daily Insights US equities opened lower as traders continue to consider the transitory effects of inflation on the economy The Nasdaq composite showed some early relative strength. European equities are lower as...

To quote the great Frank the Tank from Old School, “We’re going streaking!” Although Frank had another idea, stocks have been streaking in some historic ways, both near-term and longer-term. Let’s start with the...

Weekly Insights The Federal Reserve (Fed) ended its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting yesterday and, as expected, there were no changes to current interest rate or bond purchasing policies. However, signaling on...

Proceed With Caution in the Bond Market Long-term interest rates have traded sideways recently, but LPL Research argues that high-quality bonds can play a pivotal role in mitigating equity risk. Learn more in this week’s Weekly...

To Taper or Not to Taper, That Is the Question Inflation and tapering have dominated the conversation lately and this week in the latest LPL Market Signals podcast, Ryan Detrick and Jeff Buchbinder dig in and explain why tapering...

U.S. equities point toward a slightly higher open Market participants consider the effects of Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on corporate revenues and earnings. The Nasdaq Composite is approximately 0.7% higher as...

Weekly Insights President Biden’s recently proposed $2 trillion infrastructure investment plan would, if enacted as-is—a big “if” for sure— provide much needed support to traditional infrastructure...

Stocks have kicked off the year in a strong fashion, and history shows this may give reason to be optimistic for the rest of the year. After a solid—but certainly turbulent—year in 2020, the S&P 500 Index has continued to...

Are We on the Brink of an Inflation Crisis? LPL Research explains why any upticks in inflation will ultimately prove transitory in this week’s Weekly Market Commentary, available at 1 p.m. ET. Daily Insights U.S. stocks open...

March Madness: Stock Market Edition Daily Insights U.S. stocks open little changed as reopening theme continues to dominate. European markets are broadly higher in midday trading. Asian stocks were mixed overnight with China...

Here Comes The Earnings Boom Daily Insights US stocks open higher after last week’s bond market volatility subsides Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index rises the most in three months Asian markets strong overnight with Japan’s...

Weekly Insights The 10-year breakeven inflation rate, a market-based measure of inflation expectations, hit its highest level last Friday, February 5, since 2014. Still, at 2.21% expected annual inflation over the next 10 years, it...

If you’ve amassed sizable wealth, or are on the right path and getting there, it may be time to consider how to pass on some of that money to children and grandchildren—without creating big problems that could harm their...

Blackstone Valley Wealth Management’s two advisors, James A. Valis, CFP® and Gregg R.Manis, CFP® will be recognized with the 2021 Five Star Wealth Manager Award in the February edition of Boston Magazine. This award comes...

LPL Financial Research Outlook 2021: Powering Forward LPL Research Outlook 2021: Powering Forward is designed to help you navigate a year in which economic conditions may continue to improve dramatically. Like the markets, Outlook 2021...

Inheriting money comes with plenty of benefits. From being less worried about paying for life’s necessities to enjoying the luxuries affluence can bring, inheritors often find that many of life’s key stumbling blocks are no...

It’s a startling statistic.45% of consumers with $100,000 or more investable assets expect to make changes to their investments due to the upcoming 2020 presidential election.1Second-guessing your investment strategy is natural,...

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for Estate Planning considerations for your college-bound kids. Estate Planning isn't just for the wealthy and aging, it is useful for the living in the event that they become ill and...

The Trail Ahead At the midpoint of 2020, we’re mindful that it’s been an extremely challenging year so far in the United States and around the globe. We’re in the midst of a pandemic that continues to impact all of us...

At the end of last year (2019), Congress passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act) to encourage businesses to sponsor retirement plans and workers to save for retirement, which...

Blackstone Valley Wealth Management’s two advisors, James A. Valis, CFP® and Gregg R. Manis, CFP® will be recognized for the sixth year in a row with the 2020 Five Star Wealth Manager Award in the February edition of...

A growing number of Americans have been forced to delay their planned retirement date due to job and savings losses suffered during the past recession. Postponing retirement not only means working longer but also delaying when you...