The U.S. stock market ended the week higher on the shortened holiday week amid signs of progress between the U.S. and China on a trade truce.  Interest rates were little changed on the week with the 10-year treasury yield holding steady at 1.77%.  The price of gold also saw little change, dropping only $0.30 to $1,4161.70 an ounce.  Meanwhile the price of crude oil only rose a slim 0.26% to $58.10 a barrel. This Week’s Economic Highlights As a result of the U.S. and China trade dispute, the U.S. trade deficit in goods reached a 17-month low after shrinking by…

Highlights • All of the three major domestic market indexes ended at record closing highs this past Monday. • There is a natural tendency to become nervous about owning stocks at market highs. • History suggests that a market high is not a good reason to sell stocks. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”      – Sir Isaac Newton Year to date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has closed at record highs on 12 separate occasions.  The most recent (as of this writing) was November 18, 2019, when the Dow, S&P…

The U.S. stock market ended the week lower amid news that China would retaliate with “strong countermeasures” if Congress proceeds with the passage of a bill supporting Hong Kong protestors.  The same news also sent interest rates lower as the 10-year treasury yield dropped from 1.83% last week to 1.77% today.  The spread between the 10-year treasury yield and the 2-year treasury yield is relatively wider than its more recent past at 0.16%, but still remains historically very narrow.  The price of gold was little changed on the week, dropping only 0.34% to $1,462 an ounce.  The price of crude…