Category: Commentary/Video
62 posts categorized as "Commentary/Video"
18Jul
Astor Investment Management CIO, John Eckstein, on Bond Markets
Play Video All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. This is not a solicitation to offer investment advice or services in any state where to do so would be unlawful. Analysis and research are provided for informational purposes only, not for trading or investing. Astor and its affiliates are not liable for the…
12Jul
If the yield curve talks, should investors listen?
A favorite indicator among economists for predicting recessions is the yield curve—the difference between long-term rates and short-term rates. As of this writing, the difference between 10-year Treasuries and 2-year notes is 0.30%, a decrease from just under 1% a year ago. When this relationship flattens and goes below zero, it’s believed that the economy is likely…
10Jul
July Update on the US Economy
Our proprietary Astor Economic Index® is still showing strong growth in the US economy. The index is currently near the top of the fairly narrow range it has been in the last twelve months. The labor market continues to add more jobs than is required to keep up with the natural growth of population and…
27Jun
Does an Inverted Term Structure Lead to Recession?
Much has been made of the flattening yield curve trend that has developed over the past year or so. Yield curves that are inverted, with short-term rates higher than long-term rates, have historically preceded recessions in the United States, and so it is useful to explore the term structure as a potential signal of economic downturns. To continue reading, click…
22Jun
The “voice” of the economy and what it’s really saying
The buzz around the internet these days has been a computer-generated voice and whether it’s saying Yanni or Laurel. As it turned out, the computer was saying both, and the difference in auditory perception was due to the frequency of the playback and how well people’s ears perceive different frequencies. To continue reading click here.
6Jun
June update on the US economy
Our proprietary Astor Economic Index® is still showing strong growth in the US economy. The index is currently near the top of the fairly narrow range it has been in the last twelve months. The labor market continues to add more jobs than is required to keep up with the natural growth of population and…
10May
May update on the US economy
Our proprietary Astor Economic Index® is still showing solid growth in the US economy. The index is currently near the top of the fairly narrow range it has been in the last twelve-month range. The labor market continues to add more jobs than is required to keep up with the natural growth of population and…
1May
Q1 GDP first look, and more…
The initial read on GDP was released on 4/27/18 and it was better than expected (2.3% reported vs. 2.0% expected). Although this report is lower than the pace set in the previous 3 quarters, I believe the Fed will continue on the path of raising rates. Concern of rising rates will continue into the…
27Apr
24Apr
What? Me Worry?
The first quarter of 2018 is ‘in the books’ and investors may still feel a little woozy from the ups and downs they experienced. The volatility in Q1 seemingly reminded investors what ‘fear’ feels like and, in my opinion, the financial news mediums started to help investors find the fear they were looking for. To…
24Apr
Astor Investment Management CEO Robert Stein on Economic Data
Click here to watch our CEO Rob Stein on Morning Trade Live! All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. This is not a solicitation to offer investment advice or services in any state where to do so would be unlawful. Analysis and research are provided for informational purposes only, not for trading or…
11Apr
U.S.-China Trade Wars: Talk and Market Impact
Your diligent economic blogger is struggling to keep up with the news on the trade war front. Last week the US and China traded threats of additional proposed trade sanctions – to be imposed after the still-theoretical initial set of mutual tariffs announced earlier in April. Recall that the world’s two largest economies will soon…
14Feb
Market Questions: Less Why, More What
Given the stock market’s 10% drop over about the past two weeks, the question we’re left with now is less about “why” and more about “what.” What to do from here? First, we must keep in mind that the S&P 500 has appreciated by almost 30% in three years with little volatility and only minor…
7Feb
Bond triple whammy
US ten-year bond yields have increased about 70 basis points to 2.8% over the last several months which gotten the attention of investors. While ancient market specimens like myself have a hard time seeing 2.8% as “high,” the change from the last several years is interesting. There is a good argument to be made that…
5Feb
Comments on Recent Equity Market Pullback
It’s been a very long time since the stock market was the lead news story. That changed quickly as the stock market declined almost 10% (from intraday high to intraday lows) in the course of two days (2/2 ‐ 2/5/2018)—a big move, no matter how you slice it. The question everyone is asking is, “What’s…
4Feb
Volatile Markets? What Investors Can Expect
Given a recent escalation of questions from advisors and their clients about current market activity, we at Astor wanted to take a few minutes to outline what all of this means for investors. First, it’s important to pause and consider these changes in the overall economic schema. We at Astor have previously discussed in our…
19Oct
AI in my ETF!
Artificial intelligence continues to move into the ETF space. On October 18, 2017, the Artificial Intelligence run ETF powered by IBM’s Watson launched on the NYSE. The fund, AIEQ, is managed by EquBot and brought to market by ETF Managers Group. It’s hard to deny the lure of such an elegant concept behind an ETF in…
21Jul
Fed Outlook H2 2017
Our proprietary Astor Economic Index® is still showing good growth in the US economy. The index improved substantially this month to near its highest levels of the year. The bright spot of the economy continues to be broad labor market improvements for such a late period in the cycle. Direct measures of labor market slack…
16Jun
Why You Need to Care About This Amazon Deal
I was speaking to someone early this morning. Their exact words were “no big headlines on my phone this morning…that’s unusual”. Of course, they were referring more too political headlines, but the point was taken. Then the Amazon/Whole Foods deal hit the tape. By in large it was a surprise to see and exciting. Amazon…
2Jun
How To Tell If A Smart Beta Trade Is Crowded?
Featured in ETF.com May 23, 2017 With smart beta and factor strategies growing in popularity, getting in and out of them has become a real concern for today’s investors. Are they getting too crowded? How long is too long to be in a strategy? Can I bet against these factors and make money? Deepika Sharma,…