It appears that the United States and China have tentatively reached a partial agreement on trade.  Basically, the U.S. would pause further tariffs, while China would agree to agricultural concessions among other things.  Markets have rallied on the news, with stocks moving materially higher and bonds dropping, meaning yields increasing.  I think this is clearly...Read More

The biggest U.S. banks have now reported 3rd quarter earnings and they have all exceeded expectations.  2016 started so horribly for the big banks.  Poor economic data globally diminished the prospects of rate hikes, oil’s plunge created worries about the need for increased reserve provisioning, and Brexit had investors worried of a systemic collapse.  I...Read More