Aptus Musings: Q1 2023 Earnings Preview

On the radio last week, I heard a classic John Prine song that had the following (slightly tweaked) lyric: “a clown puts his makeup on upside down, so even when he smiles, he wears a frown”. It’s actually a pretty funny song if you listen to the lyrics. I think it...

Rearview to Windshield, April 2023

March ‘23 Market Recap; The S&P 500 ignored the fallout from banking woes and recorded a surprising +3.7% gain last month, leaving the index in positive territory for Q1 ‘23 (+7.5%). After a mid-month hike, the current Fed Funds rate (upper bound) is at 5% vs....

Rearview to Windshield, March 2023

February ‘23 Market Recap: The January rally suddenly looks distant as equities closed lower for the month, finishing down 5.0% from their early February peak. This has been a confluence of technicals, bond yield increases due to uncomfortably strong economic data in...

Rearview to Windshield, February 2023

January ‘23 Market Recap: The “January Effect” was in full order this past month. The worst performing sectors in 2022 led last month: Consumer Discretionary (+15%) and Communication Services (+14%). Meanwhile, defensive Utilities (-2%) and Staples (-1%) were the only...

Aptus Musings: 2022 Midterm Elections

In some ways, the midterm elections have been demoted in importance as investors have been concentrating on Federal Reserve policy. It has been well-documented how markets have fared during previous midterm election years. However, the macro backdrop is quite...