After a slow start out of the gate, stocks are finally starting to make some technical progress this month. Call it a Trump bump or another buy-the-dip-inspired rebound, but the S&P 500 is trading less than 1% away from a record high, as of January 22. A close above 6,090.27 would check the box for a new high and end the 29-trading day dry spell without one, a relatively high count considering the index made a new high every 4.4 trading days in 2024.

There are plenty of catalysts underpinning the recent advance. President Trump brings a pro-growth agenda to Washington, along with expectations of reduced regulations and the pr

Last year, drivers of risk appetite included the much-anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and a robust economy that consistently exceeded expectations. However, while the economy generally surpassed consensus expectations leading up to and since the first Fed rate cut in September, rising corporate bankruptcy filings continued to bubble beneath the surface.

Recent data from S&P Global Market Intelligence revealed that corporate bankruptcies reached a 14-year high last year, with 694 public and private companies filing for bankruptcy in 2024. This surpassed the recent high of 638 in 2020, when the U.S. and glo

While the new Donald Trump administration is still assembling, the outgoing Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, left a reminder that government business waits for no one. In a recent letter to lawmakers, Yellen warned that the U.S. would hit its debt ceiling today (January 21) and that the Treasury Department will begin “extraordinary measures” to stave off the threat of a technical default.

The debt limit — commonly called the debt ceiling — is the maximum amount of debt the Treasury Department can issue. The amount is set through Congress and has been regularly increased over the years to finance the gover

Earnings season is underway and, thanks to the banks, it’s off to a good start. Currently, consensus estimates are calling for a strong 12% year-over-year increase in S&P 500 earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2024. Steady economic growth should be enough for corporate America to beat these estimates, but upside will likely be limited due to several headwinds, including currency. Regulatory, trade, and immigration policies will be a major focus for analysts and investors in the weeks ahead, where this earnings season may bring more questions than answers. Policy developments will have a lot to do with whether Wall St