The Weekly Insight

We spend a lot of time talking about equities in this business. But not nearly enough time is devoted to the bond market. Interestingly, it’s the larger of the two markets. And it is a great “canary in the coal mine” about where the market thinks the economy is heading.  Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-eyes-on-the-bond-market/

The holidays are upon us! And with that comes a race to the end of the year. In this edition of the Weekly Insight Memo and Weekly Insight Podcast, we’re taking a break from the market commentary and instead looking at some good year-end planning tools that you may find beneficial. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-feeling-charitable/

Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-age-old-investment-advice/

We spend a lot of time talking about how companies are doing in this economy. And as Q3 earnings reports are wrapping up, the answer is “quite well!”. But there is a whole other side to the economy that matters even more: the consumer. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-two-economies/

Most people in the world are “headline readers”. There’s simply not enough time in a reader’s day to get past the headline and do the research. Which is why the headline we saw on Friday (“Stocks Worst November Since ‘08”) was enough to raise some hackles. Anytime someone draws a direct correlation between the current environment and 2008 it causes a visceral reaction amongst investors (and in our...

The market news last week was enough to give you whiplash. The Fed cut rates (Yay!). Powell intimated no more cuts in December (Boo!). Tech earnings were solid (Yay!). Some tech companies were punished for their AI spend (Boo!). But what does this all mean for the market in the weeks and months to come?  Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-fed-signals-tech-turbulence/

It’s Fed Week again. And by every measure, it seems certain we’re going to get another rate cut. But what should we make about the market’s certainty (100%!) that rate cuts will continue in December and into 2026?  Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-fed-certainty/

Over the last several weeks, there has been a proliferation of articles and commentators questioning the extremely large capital expenditures of AI firms as they ramp up their capacity. It’s a saying as old as time: you have to spend money to make money. But how much patience will investors have as the large AI firms spend hundreds of billions to build out their AI capacity.  Read more here: https...

It’s shutdown time in Washington, D.C. again. It’s always a dramatic time in the news. But is it something that should concern us as it relates to portfolios? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-shut-it-down/

The four most dangerous words in the world of finance are, “This time it’s different.” We’ve heard it time and again. And time and again it’s not true. So when we start hearing that higher P/E ratios for the market are the “new normal”, we’re understandably skeptical. But we can’t just ignore the data behind it. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-this-time-its-differ...

We know we’re not breaking any news when we tell you Chairman Powell and the Fed cut rates last week. The long-anticipated cut was received very well by markets which closed the week at all-time highs on Friday. It’s the next logical leap the market has taken – that this is the start of a prolonged period of rate cuts – which may be a bit farfetched. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/...

The Fed is meeting this week and expected to cut rates. In the media’s calculus this should be good for markets. But it wasn’t particularly good the last time they cut rates. So what happens if the market pulls back? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-two-types-of-corrections/

The markets brought us a little bit of everything last week, but ended on a positive note. As fast as the news cycle moves, it seems most had forgotten by Tuesday that there was a very big court decision on tariffs the previous Friday. This week, we take a dive into that ruling to see what we can learn about the future of trade policy and how it may impact markets. Read more here: https://insightw...

Jerome Powell’s annual address in Jackson Hole has become must-see TV for market watchers in recent years. In 2022, he used it to sternly put the market back in its place on rate expectations. Since then, it has been looked upon with a mix of optimism and trepidation. His last Jackson Hole speech – last Friday – was no different. But this isn’t 2022. Instead, he presented a cautiously dovish case....

The big news in the markets last week was the CPI data. It was a bit of a mixed report. If you were looking for good news, it was there. The same goes for bad news. But the report we found more interesting last week was that of CPI’s long lost cousin: PPI. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-cpis-oft-forgotten-cousin/

As the financial world obsesses about tariffs, we got to thinking about who these tariffs might impact: consumers. As regular readers of our memos know, the U.S. consumer is a powerful economic force. Consumer spending makes up nearly 70% of GDP. So as tariffs begin to be implemented, how well is the U.S. consumer prepared? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-stat...

The story of 2025 has been tariffs. And yet, despite a significant market correction in April, markets have recovered nicely. But the tariff discussion isn’t over yet. They are happening. And there is no question they will have some level of impact on the economy. Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-wheres-the-impact-of-tariffs/

In politics, they frequently refer to the 24-hour news cycle. The flood of information it creates presents opportunities – and hazards – for candidates. The same cycle exists for the market. And right now, we’re in the midst of a nice swell of “good news”. But what could be the catalyst to change that? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-the-24-hour-market-cycle/

The White House came out firing on tariffs last week. New tariffs were announced for the E.U., Mexico, Canada and a number of other countries. But the response from Wall Street was very different from the last time we did this. Instead of the pullback we saw on Liberation Day, markets were largely flat for the week. So what gives? Why the different response? And what does this mean for your portfo...

While the Nation was celebrating our 249th birthday over the weekend, Republicans in Congress were busy passing President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”. It is, as the name implies, BIG! At 897 pages, we haven’t read it all (yet). But we did dive into it over the weekend to better understand the big issues that will impact you.  Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-o...

Well, that wasn’t the week anyone expected, was it? The U.S. bombs Iran and oil prices…go down? It’s a good reminder that there is no crystal ball to predict the market’s future. But there are some things we can bet on that have staying power. And one is the strength of the United States economy. In this edition of the Weekly Insight, we look back at Warren Buffett’s comments from a few years ago...

The weekend was full of geopolitical drama. As you likely know by now, the United States struck Iran in an effort to eliminate their nuclear program. That leaves two important questions: What does this mean for the economy and markets? How are portfolios at Insight positioned for any potential troubles? Read more here: https://insightwealthgroup.com/the-weekly-insight-1973-redux/

All you have to do today is turn on a TV, or open a website, or listen to a podcast and you will be flooded with folks absolutely certain about their latest read on the market and the economy. Inflation is coming! The market is crashing! You know what we’re talking about. But the problem is the study of economics never offers those certainties – even if they play well in our hot take society.  Rea...

This is a weird time for markets. To some degree, it seems like there is so much going on. The volume is cranked to a 10. One needs only look at last week’s spat between two very powerful men which lead the market to be off by nearly 1% in a day. But do those moments really matter ? We’d argue they don’t in the long run. But we’re going to have to be patient for the big items that are going to mov...

As May wrapped up last week, the financial world was touting the month as the best performing May since 1990. That’s great news! But it’s also an artifact of timing. If you stretch the window you’re measuring out to the beginning of the year, things don’t look as good. The market is essentially flat. But we take a longer view on portfolio health than a week, a month, or a year. We’re working to bu...