Phillips & Company

It's Not All Bad News -

It's Not All Bad News Despite the shock and sharp rally in oil prices due to the Saudi Arabian oil facility attack, there is some underlying good news to consider at this stage of the cycle. [i]

We Can’t Predict But We Can Prepare -

We Can’t Predict But We Can Prepare Regardless of what economic, geopolitical, corporate, Trump tweet, or market-moving event occurs, all equity investors need to be prepared for risk.

Is There An Alternative? -

Is There An Alternative? For the first time since the middle of 2008 Financial Crisis, the S&P 500 Dividend Yield is greater than the yield on 5-, 10-, and 30-year treasuries. [i]

Playing with Fire Equals Burning Your Hand -

Playing with Fire Equals Burning Your Hand President Trump’s remarks concerning his ongoing trade war with China took on epic proportions last week as he simultaneously attacked the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the President of China Xi Jinping on Friday. [i]

You Can’t Eat Forecasts -

You Can’t Eat Forecasts Last week in our blog “What Else Can Go Wrong,” we accurately predicted several outcomes that would increase equity market volatility.

What Else Can Go Wrong? -

What Else Can Go Wrong? The old adage of Murphy’s law states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” This probably applies to our current season of worry. Moody’s Chief Economist Mark Zandi sums it up well with the following chart. [i]

Rate Cuts, Then Trump Erupts -

Rate Cuts, Then Trump Erupts While we believed a 50 basis-point rate cut was the best course of action, the Federal Reserve ended up cutting rates by the minimal 25 basis points. On July 31, the Fed said:

The Economy Has a New Friend -

The Economy Has a New Friend When you break down the four component parts of the U.S. economy, the strengths and weaknesses come into clear focus. [ii]

Trade War and Wage War -

Trade War and Wage War We’ve written in the past on our view that President Trump is waging a trade war to maximize his influence on the Federal Reserve. Though we believe he is prosecuting a case against China, the uncertainty he is creating in global GDP growth, in our opinion, is causing the Fed to consider cutting i...

Resetting Expectations -

Resetting Expectations Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell almost assured market participants an interest rate cut is inevitable and likely to occur in July. Chairman Powell made the following statements in his congressional testimony;