The United Kingdom’s (U.K.) withdrawal from the European Union (E.U.), or Brexit, is stumbling along, and another delay looks increasingly likely.

The U.K. Parliament’s “Super Saturday” voting session last weekend failed to deliver a decisive outcome as members of parliament (MPs) voted only for an amendment that stated that they would be able to fully scrutinize the proposed deal prior to any vote on whether to approve it.

This delay forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send a letter to the E.U. to request a three-month extension to the October 31 deadline, a move he had been adamant t

The stock market has started October on a bumpy path. Many global issues remain unresolved, but seasonal forces, sound fundamentals, and breakthroughs on the trade and geopolitical¹ fronts could help sustain the S&P 500 Index at record highs. Volatility can be uncomfortable, but we remain confident enough in domestic fundamentals that we would recommend suitable investors use any potential pullbacks to consider buying or rebalancing equity positions.

Fourth Quarter Strength

October has had a bad reputation in the stock market. To be fair, it’s somewhat warranted—some of the stock market’s most spectacul

U.S. stocks gained this week, making another run at all-time highs as investors watched global developments, and third quarter earnings season kicked off. The S&P 500 Index climbed 1% on October 15 amid news that United Kingdom (U.K.) and European Union (E.U.) officials were close to a deal for the U.K. to leave the E.U. (Brexit). The S&P 500 drifted higher on Wednesday and Thursday, pushing within 1% of a record-high close after E.U. member states approved a tentative Brexit deal.

Economic data released during the week was mixed. Retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.3% in September, but August’s gain was revised upward

U.S. leading economic indicators declined 0.1% in September, following a revised-down 0.2% decline in August.

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) declined month over month, underwhelming Bloomberg estimates of a flat reading. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the LEI climbed 0.4% year over year. This marks a new low since the 2016 downturn.

While the obvious downward trajectory projects a view of deteriorating economic strength, we believe that the story behind the headline number paints a less dire picture. The year-over-year number for the past three months has been heavily i