After declining materially during the middle part of October, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index rallied during the last three trading days of the month, helping the broad bond index eke out a slight gain. High-quality fixed income was under pressure for most of October, as progress was made toward tax reform and economic data continued to improve, pressing yields modestly higher. By the end of the month, dovish central bank action from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE), in addition to the anticipated nomination of Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve (Fed) chair role, were tailwinds for high-quality

House Republicans released the initial version of their tax reform bill on Thursday, November 2. After months of aspirational outlines and frameworks devoid of detail, this was the real thing: 400+ pages of proposed legislation covering all of the details, including difficult decisions about eliminating some existing tax benefits so that the bill would not add more than $1.5 trillion to the current deficit—the limit set previously in the budget bill. While the final bill will look different from the House’s first effort, this was an important step forward. Here’s our look at the path ahead.

Steps to Passing Tax

With Halloween upon us, we continue our tradition of writing about what might scare markets. While too much fear during stressful times for markets can lead to poor investment decisions, some skepticism in strong markets can be healthy. With that in mind, here are five risks that have the potential to scare markets. We also want to point out, however, that these worries do not change our generally positive outlook. We continue to expect further stock gains for this bull market in the coming year, although potentially with an increase in market volatility.

Aging Expansion and Bull Market

The economic expansion officially hit 10

It’s time to take a look at Japan. The Nikkei’s 15-day win streak, its longest on record, has our attention. When thinking about Japan, many who started following markets closely in the 1980s or later know nothing else besides year after year of recession, deflation, and a poorly performing stock market. It’s been a long, slow process but we believe that investing conditions are changing in Japan for the better, making the country’s markets worth a look. This week we discuss five reasons to take a serious look at Japan.

Reason #1: Improving Economy

Economic growth has been improving in Japan with six st