A Strong First Half of 2023

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We have hit the halfway mark of 2023, and from a capital markets perspective things are looking pretty darn good. But before we get into some performance data, let's take a quick look at the "why".

In the face of a banking crises, continued inflation, baseline rate increases, and the threat of our sovereign debt defaulting, things have held together surprisingly well over the past six months.

We can thank the ever-resilient domestic consumer for much of this, but also need to mention quick regulatory action on the part of banking regulators and congress to sweep these issues under the rug (for now).

And while the most recent FOMC meeting saw a pause in their rate increase regime, the thought is they will continue later this year as inflation is still over two times higher relative to previous years. Yes, housing has weakened, yet the overall economy continues to expand.

Bottom line, the first half of 2023 has been good for investors. Stocks burst out of the 2022 bear market as domestic issues increased a hair under 17% while foreign fare is up 10%. Bonds also participated in the rally - though on a tamer level - as domestic issues increased 2.1% and foreign 3.8%. Current yields are up across the board and even cash is keeping up with inflation.

Have a great July 4th week and for those traveling in Europe, enjoy the espresso, aperol spritz and crowds.?

Interesting data point of the week

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