If I asked you to venture a guess at which S&P sector exchange-traded fund (ETF) just hit an all-time high, you might say something like the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) or the Consumer Discretionary Sector SPRD (XLY). Those would be good guesses, and each does trade close to its respective all-time highs. But on

The activity in markets Friday was minimal, as Wall Street trading desks have seen a Memorial Day exodus for vacation spots such as the Hamptons. And while I have nothing against a little rest and relaxation this weekend (I’ll be doing the same), I also think it’s most important to remember the meaning of this

In the investment business, advisors, pundits and brokers like to tell you about the stocks, sectors and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lighting up the scoreboard with big gains. Hey, I understand that. After all, it’s fun to read about the big winners and to speculate as to whether those winners can keep delivering outsized performance. So

Some weeks are just more exciting than others. That’s true for all of us, but for financial markets, it particularly was true this week. The biggest excitement of the year took place on Wednesday, as stocks tumbled to their biggest one-day decline of 2017 after news broke that former FBI Director James Comey had put

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It is said that man is a being of self-made wealth and self-made soul. By “soul,” I mean a man’s conscious contents (and by “man” I mean human beings). So, when I see what looks to me to be a set of consistent self-made, self-inflicted wounds by the president of the United States, well, I

When did that start? I wondered recently as I was climbing down the plane stairs onto the blazing tarmac at Key West “International” (yup) Airport. Well, at some point in the last 76 years, I apparently have graduated to sir status. But you know what? It’s not that bad. There are advantages, especially in my

It was another week of markets basically creeping nowhere into a low-volatility stall. As of this writing, the Dow was on pace to end the week with about a 0.5% decline while the S&P 500 looked to close out the week down just 0.4%. The NASDAQ Composite bucked the trend, and should finish the week

If it seems like the action in the equity markets has been, well, a bit boring lately, then you’re not wrong. In fact, on Tuesday, markets hit the lowest level of volatility in some 23 years intraday, before climbing back up late in the session. That reading is based on the CBOE Volatility Index, or

This was one of those weeks where a lot of things happened economically and politically. Though economics and politics — especially politics — have been driving this market higher since the election, this week the markets stalled amidst it all. As of this writing, the Dow was on pace to edge higher for the week