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

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

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash in what has come to be known as Black Monday. The Dow plunged more than 22% on that day — the equivalent of a more than 5,000-point drop today — while markets around the

Third quarter earnings season gets underway this week (October 9–13) and it should be another good one. The S&P 500 Index has exceeded earnings expectations 33 straight quarters and we see no reason why the third quarter won’t make it

Last week’s tax proposal presented real progress. For much of this year we have been espousing what has felt like a minority view — that Republicans would reach some sort of tax agreement in early 2018. After last week, that view may have

After years of diminished earnings ended in the third quarter of 2016, European companies have begun seeing sustained growth in their bottom lines. Ultimately, earnings drive stock prices, but the market is always trying to look forward; having stron