With a week having passed since Election Day, it would seem the path forward, politically speaking, should be relatively clear. Americans came out in force to cast their votes as the turnout for the 2020 election was the highest seen in 50 years, and as of last weekend, Joe Biden was declared by the Associated Press to be the president-elect.
How to Measure the Market
Indexes have been a quick and relatively easy way for investors to track broad market performance since Charles Dow developed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIJA) in 1884.
With less than a month to go, the anxiety surrounding the presidential election is reaching fever pitch. Reflective of the highly polarized political environment we currently find ourselves in, proponents of the two major parties are working overtime to convince voters the other side will have a draconian effect on the U.S.
There’s something I’ve been wondering lately. Why haven’t hedge funds performed in line with expectations? For example, when the going got tough for the equity markets earlier this year they were a disappointment, as evidenced by the Barclays Hedge Fund Index return of -2.61% for the first six months of 2020.
With the COVID-19 virus continuing to expand its presence throughout the United States we have seen responses both from monetary policy and fiscal policy.
On March 15 the Federal Reserve (Fed) slashed the Fed Funds rate to a range of 0.00% to 0.25%, the lowest level since December 2015.
The Federal Reserve (Fed), along with six central banks from around the globe, launched the most dramatic monetary measures to boost America’s economy in its entire 105-year history. Pulling from its 2008 playbook the Fed has implemented plans at an aggressive pace to relieve key stress points in financial markets.
Over the weekend COVID-19 (coronavirus) became significantly more widespread on a global basis. Italy quarantined several large cities and the state of preparedness in the United States continues to face scrutiny.
News started rolling in this past Sunday of Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state oil company, cutting oil prices. On top of that, it pledged to increase production of oil. This will certainly have a significant impact on both commodity and financial markets.
Coronavirus: Economic and Financial Market Impacts
As the number of reported cases increases across a growing number of countries, concern about the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy and financial markets is being elevated.
Waning Energy
The energy sector placed last in performance in 2019, and the sector is getting used to being in last place or close to it.