Stocks bounced around but closed the week higher, with both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ closing at record highs on Friday. US Treasuries were ever-so-slightly better bid, with yields falling a few bps across the curve, Oil remains elevated. Gold and the US Dollar rose, while the Japanese Yen and Bitcoin fell. This week S&P 500 earnings will kick off with the six largest US banks reporting. JNJ, ASML and TSMC will also release results. The FOMC is week after next.

This article contains tables and commentary regarding the rather volatile but ultimately positive first half of 2025.

Better late than never, in that this article is about my views on American exceptionalism, both economically and as far as US stocks.

This article contains a summary of full-year 2024 performance of the indices and assets tracked by EMC, plus historical data, too.

Seven months into the year, many of my Y/E forecasts for indices and other assets look like they will be wrong. I am in good company!

This article is an update to an article I penned in February regarding my personal portfolio. For me, it's painful reading!

The Street pros provide year-end 2023 projections for stocks and bonds, so why not EMC? Here are my guesstimates and rationales.

It was a holiday shortened, rather lacklustre week in markets. Good that 2022 is over. FY returns were poor across equities and bonds.

The Federal Reserve is in the early stages of reducing its balance sheet, or quantitative tightening ("QT").