Category: Blog

U.S. Election Years Volatility U.S. election years are on average similarly volatile, but 2020 could be different. Image: BofA Merrill Lynch

Conference Board CEO Business Confidence – Expectations for Economy 6 Months Ahead CEOs in the U.S. remain pessimistic about economic conditions. Outside of U.S. recession, CEO confidence has never been so low. Image: Pictet Asset Management

Drawdowns in S&P 500 vs. ISM Surveys Interesting chart showing drawdowns in S&P 500 versus ISM surveys. Weakness in the manufacturing and service sectors matters. Image: Sampension

Currency Impact on International Returns (MSCI ACWI ex-U.S.) Chart showing the currency impact on the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index. Image: J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Cumulative Flows into U.S. Domiciled Mutual Funds and ETFs Are money-market funds flows a contrarian indicator? Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

S&P 500 Quarterly Performance by Presidential Cycle Chart showing the breakdown of the S&P 500 quarterly performance by presidential cycle since 1950. Image: Ryan Detrick, LPL Financial LLC

U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing Index Minus ISM Manufacturing Index and Real U.S. Dollar Index This chart suggests that a strong dollar hurts U.S. manufacturers. Image: Oxford Economics

NFIB – U.S. Small Business Economics Trends U.S. small business economy and hiring plans remain strong. Image: BCA Research

Total Carbon Emissions by Country (CO2) China, the United States, and India account for almost half of the total global carbon emissions. Image: Global Carbon Project

U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index vs. Manufacturing Production This chart shows the ISM survey (sentiment) versus the real world (hard data) and suggests it is not yet catastrophic. Image: Swedbank Research