Posts by Todd Hurlbut - CIO

Following the recent ascent of the Japanese stock market, one is reminded of the risk that a buy and hold strategy may not always prove successful.  As a teenager growing up in the late 1980s, it seemed all but certain that Japan was taking over the world. Japanese investors notably bought Rockefeller Center as well as the Read More

2023 has been a challenging year for investors thus far due to conflicting data surrounding the health of the US economy. Many expected a new bull market following the simultaneous bear market in stocks and bonds in 2022. However, the data underlying the year-to-date stock market advance tells a different story. Historically leading up to Read More

Over the past two decades, raising the US debt ceiling to borrow the funds necessary to pay for programs Congress has already approved and appropriated has become more politicized. The brinkmanship threatens the debt rating of the US Government and investors have taken notice. Two days ago, Fitch ratings placed US Government debt on negative Read More

In September of 2020, I wrote a blog called “A Breadth of Air” observing the deteriorating market breadth in the uptrend of the overall stock market. The market breadth further eroded into 2021 setting the stage for a bear market in 2022. Unusually, here in 2023 we are revisiting a similar, yet arguably worse, scenario.  Read More

Stock markets are off to a strong start in 2023 following a dismal performance in 2022. Notwithstanding sharply higher interest rates and fears of a forthcoming recession, the bulls, at least for now, are in control.  There are several arguments to be made for being bullish or bearish in this environment. The bullish argument relies Read More