Twin Deficits and the US Dollar

Economic Blog Posted by lplresearch Thursday, April 22, 2021 It was a particularly challenging year for the greenback in 2020, where the world’s reserve currency acted as a “safe haven” asset at the height of the March 2020 market volatility, only to fall over the remainder of the year. With the U.S. outpacing much of the […]

April 22, 2021

Leading Indicators Suggest an Accelerating U.S. Economy

Economic Blog Posted by lplresearch Friday, April 23, 2021 The economic reacceleration is underway in the U.S., as the expanding vaccination campaign, lifting of mobility restrictions, and infusion of fiscal stimulus combined to lift the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) in March. The LEI grew 1.3% month over month, ahead of Bloomberg consensus forecasts of […]

April 23, 2021

Infrastructure Plan, Higher Income Taxes and Municipal Bonds

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Tuesday, April 27, 2021 President Biden’s recently proposed $2 trillion infrastructure investment plan would, if enacted as-is—a big “if” for sure— provide much needed support to traditional infrastructure projects like roads and bridges amongst other projects. While the plan would tangentially support the municipal market through better economic growth and higher […]

April 27, 2021

Where Do President Biden’s First 100 Days Stack Up Versus President Trump?

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Wednesday, April 28, 2021 President Biden’s 100th day in office is tomorrow, on April 29. Hard to believe it has been 100 days already, but overall the economy continues to improve and stocks have done very well under our new President. We’ve heard the question many times: Where does the Biden rally […]

April 28, 2021

End of Recession Call May Come Soon

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Wednesday, April 28, 2021 Incredibly, the COVID recession may have ended a year ago, but we still don’t have call from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). That may when the first estimate of Q1 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth is released tomorrow. The Q1 numbers are likely to […]

U.S. Economy Jumps Out of the Gate in 2021

Economic Blog Posted by lplresearch Thursday, April 29, 2021 In what was initially expected to be one of the slower quarters of the year, the U.S. economy jumped out of the gates in 2021, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing 6.4% quarter over quarter. A faster than expected vaccination program, nearly $3 trillion in fiscal stimulus—including […]

April 29, 2021

Here Comes Sell In May

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Friday, April 30, 2021 “The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day. When the sun is out and the wind is still, you’re one month on in the middle of May.” American Poet Robert Frost One of the best known investment axioms is to […]

April 30, 2021

Five Things to Know About Preferred Securities

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Tuesday, May 04, 2021 Fixed income investments have generally played two key roles within a diversified asset allocation—generating a stable income and providing protection during equity market selloffs. While we still think high-quality fixed income investments can meet those two objectives, with yields as low as they are, the income objective […]

May 4, 2021

Let’s Talk About Stocks And Higher Taxes

Market Blog Posted by lplresearch Wednesday, May 5, 2021 “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,” Benjamin Franklin First off, we hope everyone has a happy and safe Cinco de Mayo! One of the big discussions lately has […]

May 5, 2021

Race To Immunity To Beat Global COVID-19 Surge

Economic Blog Posted by lplresearch Thursday, May 6, 2021 New Cases Surge Even as an unprecedented global vaccine rollout is underway the daily number of new COVID-19 cases reported (measured by the 7-day moving average) recently passed 1.25 million for the first time. The number of daily global cases has escalated rapidly, from a trough of […]

May 6, 2021