volatility

Our take on the investing, financial, & economic themes of the day

2016 Year-to-Date: Explaining Market Volatility

17 February, 2016 by Sally Sulcove, CFA, CFP in Commentary
Of the 30 trading days so far this year, half of them have had more than a 100-point swing in the Dow Jones Industrial average.  As grateful as we feel for the recent days of very strong, positive market action (such as the big gains logged today), it is human nature to feel more pain from the ... read more...

Fewer Stocks, Higher Prices?

5 May, 2014 by Mark O'Brien in Commentary
The financial news through the end of April 2014 is pretty bland, at least as regards stocks.  Stock prices are just a smidgen higher (1.9%) than they were at the start of the year. And the amount of daily volatility is about two-thirds the long-term average.  At flat times like these, the ... read more...

2012: New Year, New Market

15 February, 2012 by Emme Kealey in Commentary
When tracking the weather or basketball statistics the end of the calendar year has little effect.  January 1st is just another day. Not so when it comes to stocks. According to the phenomenon known as the January Effect, investors—particularly the large institutional investors that dominate ... read more...