The Capital Spectator

US junk bonds continue to post the highest trailing one‑year yields for the major asset classes, based on a set of ETFs through June 3. Roughly half of the funds are reporting payout rates above the current pace of annual consumer inflati...

The US economy isn’t immune to the energy shock continuing to reverberate from the Middle East, but the fallout may be hard to spot in the upcoming second‑quarter GDP report. That, at least, is the message in current nowcasts.

Output is projected to rise 2.5% in Q2, based on the median nowcast from a set of estimates compiled by CapitalSpectator.com. If correct,...

The expected long-term total return for the Global Market Index (GMI) continued to tick higher in May, rising to the highest level in recent history. Although the annualized performance outlook has edged up to a mid-7% forecast, the current outlook remains well below GMI’s realized return over the trailing ten-year window.

GMI is a market-value-weighted mix of ...

Most markets continued to rise in May, extending April’s bounce-back after March’s broad and deep selloff, based on a set of ETFs. The main exception among the major asset classes: commodities, which fell sharply, posting the first monthly decline this year.

US stocks led the rally in May: Vanguard Total US Stock Market ETF (VTI) rose 5.2%, the fund’s strongest...

The Capital Spectator is taking an extended Memorial Day holiday and trading NJ for Italy for the week ahead. Postings will be light to (probably) non-existent during the interim. The US-based routine resumes again on June 2. Ciao!