What’s going on in the world…
Market opens flattish with a sell the news vibe in place. The Phase 1 trade deal, more like a truce, will be signed by the US and China in Washington today. The articles of impeachment are expected to be handed over from the House to the Senate today. Earnings Season has thus far, in the very early stages, brought positive reports, but that was widely expected. The question is where do we go from here and at elevated levels, investors seem to be selling the news because many challenges still persist. They are not going away quickly. Something is wrong in the Repo market. The Fed keeps injecting liquidity to provide stability which should not be the case during good economic times. Jeff Bezos said the 21st century would be the Indian century. We agree, and are invested there. In a head-scratching move, that requires more digging, Russian PM Medvedev, who was President in between Putin terms, has resigned. Medvedev said he was resigning to give Putin room to carry out the changes he wants to make, which includes giving Parliament the power to name the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers. This sounds like an authoritarian move. That is no surprise. The US added Switzerland to the list of currency manipulators. That is a bit of a surprise considering the Swiss assistance in de-escalating the Iranian standoff. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all hit intraday record highs in mid-session Tuesday, but none posted a record close, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished down. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on pace to post their best January since 2013.
Have a great morning,
Mike Frazier
