Value or growth? Here’s an analytical framework for decision making

Should you be a value or growth investor?   The accompanying chart shows the historical record. In the last 20 years, growth has handily beaten value. The U.S. value/growth track record closely tracked the international developed value/growth record until 2023, when AI-related plays in the U.S. went on a tear. Such stocks weren’t readily available...

Macro events have been big nothingburgers

Mid-week market update: The big macro events of this week hasn't really moved the needle on risk appetite. The market didn't react much to the Quarterly Refunding Announcement detailing the schedule of Treasury issuance. The JOLTS report showed slightly weaker than expected job openings, but quits and layoffs declined as well, indicating a general deceleration...

Time to tiptoe back into Big Tech?

Preface: Explaining our market timing models We maintain several market timing models, each with differing time horizons. The "Ultimate Market Timing Model" is a long-term market timing model based on the research outlined in our post, Building the ultimate market timing model. This model tends to generate only a handful of signals each decade.   The Trend...

Relax, it’s just a mid-cycle expansion

The market adopted a risk-off tone when headline Q1 GDP came in lower than expected at 1.6%, compared to an expected 2.5%. More importantly, core PCE rose at an annualized rate of 3.4%, which was hotter than expectations and led to stagflation fears. Upon closer inspection, nominal GDP growth was dragged down by the combination...

A V-shaped rebound, or dead cat bounce?

Mid-week market update: I presented this chart on the weekend and rhetorically asked if the inevitable market bounce would be durable. Since then, the S&P 500 rallied strongly off last Friday's oversold condition. In addition, the stochastic recycled from oversold to neutral, which is a tactical buy signal.     Does this mean the relief...