As the clock strikes 11 p.m. in London (midnight in Brussels) on January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom (U.K.) will end its 47-year membership in the European Union (E.U.) when the U.K.’s withdrawal from the E.U., known as Brexit, becomes official. There will be little fanfare at E.U. parliament in Brussels, however, or at the Houses of Parliament in London. Aside from the E.U. Parliament building taking down its Union Jack flags and some pro-Brexit supporters celebrating in London, there will be little immediate change.

“We anticipate that today’s Brexit itself will have little impact, as it merely marks the star

The Super Bowl Indicator suggests stocks rise for the full year when the Super Bowl winner has come from the original National Football League (now the NFC), but when an original American Football League (now the AFC) team has won, stocks have fallen. We would be the first to admit that this indicator has no connection to the stock market, but “data don’t lie”: The S&P 500 Index has performed better, and posted positive gains with greater frequency, over the past 53 Super Bowl games when NFC teams have won. Of course, it doesn’t always work, as stocks did great last year even though the dreaded Patriots (from the A

The U.S. economy notched an average year of growth in 2019.

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data released today. Net exports added 1.5 percentage points, its largest contribution to quarterly GDP growth in 10 years, as global demand picked up and domestic demand waned. Consumer spending contributed 1.2 percentage points, while inventories subtracted 1.1 percentage points. Business spending was a drag on growth for the third straight quarter.

Today’s fourth quarter GDP report officially closed the book on 2019, a curious year for the

A new wave of global uncertainty has spooked investors, and some have feared it could put too much strain on a weakened global economy without more central bank intervention.

As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 1.46% on Tuesday, below the current fed funds rate range of 1.5–1.75%. Two-year yields, which we view as a proxy for expected monetary policy, typically follow the fed funds rate unless fixed income investors expected a rate change in the near term.

Now, policymakers have a chance to respond. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is scheduled to de