Investing with Insight
At Appleton, we value active engagement and interaction with financial advisors and clients. Investing with insight helps us meet client objectives. And by sharing our economic and market perspectives, we foster deeper relationships. Here’s what we’re talking about this month.
Review and Outlook
"After a spring marked by volatile economic data and a first half of 2024 plagued by uncertainty, July’s “goldilocks” economic data was followed at the end of the month by a surprisingly weak jobs report that raised recession fears and roiled markets...
Economic and Market Commentary
"Bank of America provides monthly updates on state tax revenue trends. In the Bank’s latest publication it noted that median sales tax collections in July are pointing to a 0.4% decline, which would be the second consecutive drop .."
"It is often said that predicting market direction correctly is much easier than timing. We concur with that sentiment, and one only needs to point to the fact that a year ago Appleton highlighted the risk of holding short-term bonds despite attractive front-end yields. Those yields are still appealing, although with Fed Funds rate cuts likely on the near-term horizon it’s time to revisit the case for adding duration..."
"A common refrain when discussing the Federal Reserve’s ongoing fight to quell inflation is “the last mile is the hardest.” On one hand, progress so far has come faster than many had anticipated, with both headline and core inflation falling below 4% before the end of 2023. This was largely due to volatile non-core food and energy prices, however, and core goods, where supply chain normalization has allowed transitory-after-all price pressures to quickly fade..."
Quarterly Perspectives
Q2
"News cycles and market sentiment shifts have become increasingly rapid in today’s fast paced media environment. Depending on where one turns for insight (or opinion as the case may be), recommendations are likely to widely vary, if not conflict..."
Q1
"Many years in the equity markets are characterized by a prevailing theme or development, at times something dramatic such as the dot com frenzy of 1999 or the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2007 and 2008 that launched the Great Financial Crisis..."
Q4
"The recent passing of legendary investor Charlie Munger has prompted many prominent investors to publicly reflect upon his wisdom. The human element was often central to Munger’s insights concerning investment decision-making, and he was a pioneer in the field of behavioral finance."
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