Mountain Money Blog
As of this writing the new tax bill hasn’t yet been signed by the President. But it already seems to have been sealed and delivered. So at the slight risk of being too fast out the gate, here is a summary of the vast new law which goes into effect on January 1, 2018 – […]
Equity markets continued their record run in the 3rd quarter. The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 4.48% in the quarter, bringing its return to 14.24% for the year-to-date. The index hasn’t had a down quarter since the third quarter of 2015 and only one losing quarter since 2013. In the US, Small […]
Stock markets around the globe had their best first six months in years. In the second quarter, The S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 3.09%; bringing the total increase to 9.34% thus far for the year. US Large Cap Growth Stocks returned 4.67%. While Large Cap Value returned only 1.34%. After years of […]
The “Trump Bump” continued unabated in the first quarter. The S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 6.07%; tacking on to the 3.82% increase in the fourth quarter of 2016. In a reversal from last year, the gain was led by growth stocks, which were up 8.91%, while value stocks gained 3.27%. The S […]
Now that was exciting. With the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the S & P 500 (total return) Index gained 3.82% during the fourth quarter – and more than 5% since election day. The index was up 11.96% for the year. This, after losing 10.5% in January and early […]
Markets continued to move higher in the 3rd quarter. The S & P 500 (total return) index was up 3.85% and 8.12% year-to-date. The small cap Russell 2000 index increased 9.05%. Foreign markets, which have underperformed significantly over the last decade, were among the best performers. The MSCI Developed Markets Index was up 6.43%; while […]
The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 2.46% in the quarter; but not without a whipsaw caused by the June 23rd vote in Great Britain to leave (Brexit) the European Union. Two days of steep losses (over 5%) were almost completely recovered in the last three days of trading. The index gained 3.99% […]
The S & P 500 (Total Return) Index gained 1.35% in the quarter. This was no mean feat considering what was occurring in January. The first two weeks of January welcomed the worst start to a year for the S & P 500 in history. The index was down 7.93% from January 4 -15. For […]
The stock market actually achieved a sizable gain in the fourth quarter. But it sure didn’t feel like it. Going in to the quarter the S & P 500 (Total Return) Index had been down 5.29% for the year. So the 7.04% fourth quarter gain resulted in a small 1.38% increase for the year; almost […]
The extreme volatility during the last week of August virtually ordained the market’s performance for the quarter. Stocks were weighed down by China’s slowing economy and the continuing pressure on commodity prices (especially oil.) China has accounted for approximately half the world’s demand for industrial commodities. The Fed continues to waver on raising interest rates; […]
