RESEARCH & THOUGHT PIECES FROM OUR TEAM

Stock markets wrapped up the first half of 2022 on a sour note. Investors braced for higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve (the Fed) attempted to combat the highest inflation levels in approximately 40 years. All three major U.S. indexes posted their second straight quarter of declines....

The U.S. economy has experienced 12 recessions since World War II, and each one included two features: Economic output contracted and unemployment rose. Today, something highly unusual is happening. Economic output fell in the first quarter and signs suggest it did so again in the second. Yet the...

Minimum criteria for inclusion in Broadridge Best Money Managers:

I. Performance must be calculated "net” of all fees and brokerage commissions. This means after all fees have been deducted.

II. Performance must be calculated inclusive of all cash reserves.

III. Performance results must be...

Navigating Behavioral Biases During Volatile Times

When the MAP Investment Team discusses topics for our thought pieces, we make sure to always stay true to our investment process. There are plenty of market prognosticators who perpetually spout bullish takes by viewing everything through...

More than a third of high-earning American workers feel strapped for cash — a share that has risen dramatically in recent years. Thirty-six percent of U.S. employees with salaries of $100,000 or more are living paycheck to paycheck — twice as many who said they were in 2019, according...

The Federal Reserve’s bid to contain the hottest inflation in decades will end in a recession. That’s the message the bond market is telegraphing.

• Cherry Creek Mortgage: "Mortgage Credit News by Louis S Barnes"
• Bloomberg: "Wall Street’s Favorite Recession Signal Is...

In the latest monthly performance review note from Deutsche Bank, strategist Henry Allen writes that after a very poor start to the year, May marked the first time so far in 2022 that a majority of the non-currency assets in the bank's main sample were in positive territory (if not by much).

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U.S. Fixed Income Is Enduring One of The Worst Declines in History

Fixed income investors will look back fondly on the 40-year bull market for bonds that ended in 2021. We’re in an entirely different market now, and while early, it’s the one we’ve been warning about for quite...

Pools, restaurants and camps cut operations even though demand is back. Labor costs are higher and so are prices. ‘What, no one is applying?’

• Oaktree: "Bull Market Rhymes"
• Seeking Alpha: "White House Nears Decision on Forgiving $10K in Student Debt per Borrower"
• The...

Before the pandemic, Dani Gantcher earned about $15 an hour babysitting in her hometown of Scarsdale, N.Y. Parents sometimes asked her to wash dishes or stay late. Now, the 18-year-old is raking in $25 to $30 an hour. Moms and dads are asking a lot less from her. And they treat her like a VIP.

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Americans continue to feel the sting of inflation. Consumer prices rose 8.3% in April from a year ago. As a result, U.S. households are spending an additional $341 a month to purchase the same goods and services compared to a year ago due to inflation above typical inflation of 2%, according to...

Millions of older Americans stopped working during the pandemic, far more than usual, stoking fears that the workforce had been permanently altered, but the country is close to closing the gap in early retirements, according to new data.

• Zero Hedge: "Janet Yellen Admits Biden's Spending "Did...