Published: Fri, 20 May 2022 20:45:37 +0000
Friday, May 20, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities U.S. Markets Finish Lower The U.S. major market indexes finished lower for the seventh straight week, the longest such streak in over ten years as the S&P … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 20 May 2022 16:00:29 +0000
Friday, May 20, 2022 “Our tools don’t really work on supply shocks.” The quote above was one of the most important statements Chair Jerome Powell made at the recent press conference after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 19 May 2022 16:00:19 +0000
Thursday, May 19, 2022 This is a macro driven market. So even as the S&P 500 Index nears a bear market, until we get better news on the macro front, volatility will likely continue. There is a long list of … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 18 May 2022 16:00:23 +0000
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 It has been a historically bad year so far for stocks, with many names in bear markets. Thus far though, the S&P 500 Index has avoided a bear market (classified as a 20% decline from recent … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 17 May 2022 16:09:13 +0000
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 One of the value propositions of owning core bonds is that they tend to act as a diversifier during equity market drawdowns. That is, core bonds have tended to outperform equities during equity market selloffs, which … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 13 May 2022 21:49:46 +0000
Friday, May 13, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Lower Amid another volatile week for the markets, the U.S. major market indexes finished lower for the sixth straight week. This hasn’t happened since 2011. … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 13 May 2022 16:04:54 +0000
Friday, May 13, 2022 It’s been a tough year so far for a traditional “60/40” portfolio, a portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds. Using the S&P 500 Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (“Agg”) to represent stocks … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 12 May 2022 16:00:33 +0000
Thursday, May 12, 2022 This is one of the worst starts to a year ever and now we have to worry about Friday the 13th. That’s right, tomorrow, May 13, will be the first Friday the 13th since August 2021. … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 11 May 2022 18:00:40 +0000
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Stocks lost ground in April, reversing all of the March gains as the S&P 500 Index tumbled 8.8%. The latest resinous inflation reports and corresponding hawkish response from the … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 11 May 2022 16:00:10 +0000
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 Moderating Inflation Should Provide Boost in Consumer Confidence A slight moderation in inflation will likely provide some needed boost in consumer confidence but we may have to wait another month. The April inflation report was not … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 10 May 2022 16:00:53 +0000
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 The unrelenting move higher in U.S. Treasury yields continued last week with the yield on the 10-year Treasury up another 15 basis points (0.15%). Moreover, 10-year Treasury yields have doubled this this year with 130 basis … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 06 May 2022 20:15:20 +0000
Friday, May 6, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Lower Amid a volatile week for the markets around the Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting, the U.S. major market indexes finished lower for the fifth … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 06 May 2022 16:00:21 +0000
Friday, May 6, 2022 The U.S. economy added 428,000 jobs in April, matching job growth last month after revisions. The LPL Chart of the Day shows the 3-month average gain dipped from the highs from last year. “A softer trend … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 05 May 2022 16:00:39 +0000
Thursday, May 5, 2022 The Federal Reserve (Fed) ended its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting yesterday and the outcome was broadly in line with market expectations. As expected, the Committee raised short-term interest rates by 50 basis points … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 04 May 2022 16:22:17 +0000
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 2022 has been one of the worst starts to a year ever for stocks and bonds. The reasons for the rough start, which are widely known, include inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed), soaring yields, the … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 03 May 2022 16:24:07 +0000
Tuesday, May 3, 2022 We know stocks have gotten cheaper on traditional valuation metrics as a result of the latest market correction. The most commonly used valuation tool, the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), has fallen from over 21 to under 18 … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 29 Apr 2022 20:37:42 +0000
Friday, April 29, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Lower For the fourth straight week, the U.S. market indexes finished lower as investors remain concerned over inflation’s potential grip on future corporate profits as … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:00:37 +0000
Friday, April 29, 2022 With the S&P 500 Index in correction territory (down more than 10% from the previous peak) while the market faces a number of big threats, including inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve, soaring yields, and war in … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 28 Apr 2022 16:00:22 +0000
Thursday, April 28, 2022 The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of -1.4% in Q1, partially hindered by the COVID-19 Omicron variant during the first month of the year, but mainly due to a huge trade deficit. Underlying demand … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:00:22 +0000
Wednesday, April 27, 2022 The selloff continued on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 Index down 7.8% in the usually bullish month of April. With three days to go, this could go down as the worst April since a 9.0% drop … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:00:40 +0000
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 In this week’s Weekly Market Commentary (found here) we took a closer look at some of the economic data to see if it is signaling a near-term recession. For us, recessionary risks have increased this year … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 22 Apr 2022 20:38:18 +0000
Friday, April 22, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Mixed For the third straight week, the U.S. market indexes finished lower as the continued Eastern European conflict along with inflation concerns renewed investor worries … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 22 Apr 2022 16:00:30 +0000
Friday, April 22, 2022 Today marks the 52nd Earth Day, with this year’s theme “Invest in Our Planet.” We took this opportunity to look at some of the risks relating to global climate change. While from the top down governments … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:29:43 +0000
Thursday, April 21, 2022 According to LPL Research’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) recently released Beige Book, Main Street sentiment is confronting an expanding number of risks but remains positive overall. Words related to uncertainty reached their highest level … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:00:02 +0000
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Inflation continues to soar, dominating conversation and stretching consumer wallets. Last week’s inflation data saw consumer prices up 8.5% year over year, the most since the early 1980s, while producer prices were up 11.2%, the most … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:00:16 +0000
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 The unrelenting move higher in U.S. Treasury yields continued last week making it the 15th week (out of the past 16 weeks) that the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury security ended the week higher. Moreover, … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 14 Apr 2022 18:26:00 +0000
Thursday, April 14, 2022 Index Performance Performance is as of 2:00 PM ET View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Mixed For the second straight week, the majority of U.S. market indexes finished lower as the continued Eastern … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:00:32 +0000
Thursday, April 14, 2022 Earnings season unofficially got underway yesterday with results from Blackrock, JPMorgan Chase, and Delta Airlines. The results were mixed, with JPMorgan Chase shares selling off on the results amid a sizable Russia-related writedown, Blackrock shares little … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:00:46 +0000
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 One of the most prominent economic stories of the past year has been the supply shortage of semiconductors. As COVID-19 shut down chip making facilities across the globe, and consumers shifted their consumption from services to … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 16:16:15 +0000
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 Inflation in March was mostly driven by categories already reverting in April March 2022 inflation metrics soared to highs last seen in December 1981, when the S&P 500 Index was at 123 (versus a little under … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 08 Apr 2022 20:33:05 +0000
Friday, April 8, 2022 Index Performance U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Mixed Investors sold off equities amid the continued Russia-Ukraine conflict along with its effects on inflation. This week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes added concerns over monetary … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 08 Apr 2022 16:21:39 +0000
Friday, April 8, 2022 Rising mortgage rates alone will not squash the housing market but will definitely slow exuberance The historic spike in mortgage rates instigated chatter across the country that the housing market is a bubble that will soon … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:00:18 +0000
Thursday, April 7, 2022 This year’s Masters Golf Tournament starts today at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. As usual, the world’s top players will be competing for the coveted green jacket, but as often also seems to be … Continue reading →
Published: Wed, 06 Apr 2022 16:00:20 +0000
Wednesday, April 6, 2022 One of the biggest stories over the past few weeks has been the inversion of various points on the U.S. Treasury yield curve. The more well-known 2-year/10-year yield curve spread inverted on April 1, 2022 for … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:00:53 +0000
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Most equity markets worldwide gained ground, reversing two straight months of declines. The present geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe have added to the market’s “wall of … Continue reading →
Published: Tue, 05 Apr 2022 16:00:52 +0000
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 The shape of U.S Treasury yield curve is often looked at as a barometer for U.S. economic growth. More specifically, it reflects how the Federal Reserve (Fed) intends to stimulate or slow economic growth by cutting … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 01 Apr 2022 20:22:33 +0000
Friday, April 1, 2022 Index Performance View enlarged chart. U.S. and International Equities Markets Finish Mixed As has been the major market theme since late February, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its effects on inflation added to this year’s concerns over … Continue reading →
Published: Fri, 01 Apr 2022 16:43:16 +0000
Friday, April 1, 2022 Summary The U.S. economy added 431,000 jobs in March and February job estimates were revised higher, pushing the 3 month average gain to 562,000. Unemployment ticked down to 3.6 percent, indicating a tightening labor market. Gains … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:00:41 +0000
Thursday, March 31, 2022 Stocks have rallied back nicely over the past couple of weeks, with the S&P 500 up more than 10% off its March 14 low. While some would suggest that the market is sniffing out a potential … Continue reading →
Published: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 13:19:08 +0000
Thursday, March 31, 2022 The real change in March consumer confidence masked by February revisions. According to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, consumer confidence “increased” in March to 107.2, but that is based off the sizable downward revision to … Continue reading →
A stock represents a share of ownership in a business. When you hold one or more shares of stock in a company, you actually own a piece of that company. Your percentage of ownership will depend on how many shares you hold in relation to the total number of shares issued by the company. Investors who purchase stock are known as the company's stockholders or shareholders. The price of shares reflects the public's level of interest in owning the shares. If a lot of investors want to buy shares, they bid against one another, driving up the market price of the stock. If interest is low, competing bids are few and far between, and the price of shares is likely to fall. You may hold the stock in the form of a stock certificate, which identifies you as the owner of the stock and the number of shares you own. Alternatively, shares may be held in an account with a brokerage firm.
Your percentage of ownership in a company represents your share of the risks taken and profits generated by the company. If the company does well, your share of the total earnings will be proportionate to how much of the company's stock you own. The flip side, of course, is that your share of any loss will be similarly proportionate to your percentage of ownership, though you are not personally financially responsible for any share of the liabilities of the company in which you hold an equity interest. Beyond that, depending on the company and the types of shares you have, stock ownership may carry other benefits. Specifically, you may be entitled to dividend payments (which you can generally receive either in cash or additional shares), capital gains payouts, voting rights, and other corporate privileges. For example, common stockholders have the right to vote for candidates for the board of directors and on other important issues.
From the standpoint of the company, issuing and selling stock enables it to raise capital needed to expand, conduct research, modernize, pay off creditors, and meet other corporate expenses. When you give a company capital by buying its shares, you acquire equity in that company. Just as your equity in a home represents the portion that you actually own relative to the amount you owe on the mortgage, equity in a company represents your ownership stake. That's why stocks are sometimes referred to as equities.
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