Equities continued to rise this week, sending the S&P 500 Index back over the 3,000 level and near its record high of 3,027.98 set July 26. Easing trade fears, bold measures from the European Central Bank (ECB), and strong retail sales all helped buoy investment sentiment.

The United States granted China a two-week reprieve for previously announced tariff hikes as a goodwill measure ahead of the 70th anniversary celebration of the People’s Republic. China responded with some tariff exemptions and re-committing to U.S. agriculture purchases. News that the Trump administration is considering an interim trade deal added op

There’s a growing pile of negative-yielding debt around the world amid extraordinary monetary policy initiatives. While maintaining respect for global money flows, we believe the combination of economic fundamentals, domestic monetary policy, and a widening federal budget deficit limit the prospects for sub-zero yields in the United States.

Fixed income investing has traditionally been regarded as a stable source of yield for suitable investors. One party lends another party money, and the lender receives interest in return for the risk incurred by providing capital.

Given extraordinary global monetary policy i

Consumer inflation has accelerated recently, bucking disinflation and deflation concerns that had permeated financial markets earlier this year.

In August, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at least 0.3% for a third straight month, the first time that’s happened since April 1995. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, core CPI rose 2.4% year over year last month, one of the fastest paces of growth in this economic cycle.

Gauges of consumer inflation slowed earlier in 2019 as trade uncertainty weakened global demand. Then, consumer spending picked up and the United States continued to in

The European Central Bank (ECB) met the market’s expectations Thursday in Mario Draghi’s swan song as the head of the central bank. The central bank cut its deposit rate by 0.1%, going further into negative territory, and restarted quantitative easing, in which it will purchase 20 billion euros in bonds monthly to help lower interest rates and inject liquidity into the financial system. The ECB also announced a tiered system to ease the pressure of negative rates on banks, exempting them from paying for the “privilege” of parking cash on some funds.

While these moves are bold, the central bank may have pas