What we’re reading (6/30)
“Markets Post Worst First Half Of A Year In Decades” (Wall Street Journal). “Accelerating inflation and rising interest rates fueled a monthslong rout that left few markets unscathed. The S&P 500 fell 21% through Thursday, suffering its worst first half of a year since 1970, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Investment-grade bonds, as measured by the iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond exchange-traded fund, lost 11%—posting their worst start to a year in history.”
“After Stock Market’s Worst Start In 50 Years, Some See More Pain Ahead” (New York Times). “Wall Street set records in the first half of the year, none of them good. The economy is on the cusp of a recession, battered by high inflation and rising interest rates, which eat into paychecks, dent consumer confidence and lead to corporate cutbacks. As it has teetered, markets have tanked.”
“The Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Hints At Moderation In May.” (New York Times). “The Personal Consumption Expenditures price measure, which the Fed officially targets when it aims for 2 percent inflation on average over time, climbed by 6.3 percent in the year through May, matching the April increase. Over the past month, it picked up 0.6 percent, a rapid pace of increase as gas prices rose.”
“7 Things Investors Should Know About A Bear Market” (U.S. News & World Report). “Historically, bear markets have provided investors with excellent opportunities to buy high-quality stocks at a discounted valuation. When the entire stock market falls, even most high-quality stocks are dragged down with it. Assuming the overall market eventually recovers, this downdraft in stock valuations provides investors with periodic opportunities to scoop up shares of some of the best stocks in the market at a cheap price relative to their longer-term earnings and cash flow outlooks.”
“Prevalence Of Psychological Distress Among Working-Age Adults In The United States, 1999–2018” (Michael Daly, American Journal of Public Health). “The prevalence of psychological distress in the past 30 days increased from 16.1% in 1999–2000 to 22.6% in 2017–2018, an increase of 6.5 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.6, 7.3) or 40% from 1999–2000 levels. Statistically significant increases in the prevalence of distress were observed across all age, gender, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment subgroups examined. Rates of serious psychological distress increased from 2.7% in 1999–2000 to 4% in 2017–2018, an increase of 1.3 percentage points (95% CI = 0.9, 1.6).”
