The US household has certainly been through a lot in the 21st century, including a housing crisis in 2008 and now a global pandemic that has triggered one of the deepest recessions ever and caused double-digit unemployment at one point—the highest in the post-WWII era.

Despite these hardships, the ability of the average US household to meet its debt payments has steadily improved. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, after deteriorating throughout much of the 1990s up to the 2008 recession, household debt service payments as a percent of disposable income (i.e. after tax) have improved dramatically in the most recent decad

New Street View Video Delivers a Message in a Bottle

LPL Research Chief Investment Officer Burt White contends there is one metric above all others that may tell us how well the economy is doing. “Message In A Bottle” is approved for clients.

Daily Insights

US Stocks Set for Second Straight Rally as Retail Trading Frenzy Subsides

• European markets are broadly higher in midday trading as EU economy contracts less than expected.

• Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.7% during the fourth quarter versus Bloomberg consensus forecast of 0.9%.

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Index Performance

US and International Equities

This month provided mixed results for the major market indexes. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended the month lower. The Nasdaq Composite continued its run into the New Year, returning over 1%, but the top performer was the Russell 2000 small cap index, returning 5% for the month. Small caps continue their ascent higher from their robust 2020 fourth quarter finish.

Energy Powers Forward

With regard to the S&P 500 sectors, results were fairly mixed, however the major standout was the energy sector, returning over 3% for January. Wi

Stocks got off to a nice start in 2021, until the late January selloff, as everyone got GameStop fever. Should bulls worry about what a down January might mean for the rest of 2021?

There’s an old adage on Wall Street that suggests, “As goes January, so goes the year.” This was first discussed in 1972 by Yale Hirsh of the Stock Trader’s Almanac, and it has an impressive track record.  Simply put, when the first month of the year was green, it bodes well for the rest of the year (and vice versa). Given stocks closed red in January, how worried should investors be?

As shown below in the LPL