2017 began with high expectations for economic robustness and with investors savoring the taste of President’s Trump’s victory, which was topped off with Republican control of all branches of the federal government. The stock market, high yield and global risk markets were on fire until crude oil and commodities resumed their bear markets (begun in May 2011) in mid-January 2017. As of June 30, 2017, domestic stocks and lower quality foreign stock and bond markets remain in bull markets, but domestic high-yield bonds, real estate stocks, energy securities and technology shares have stalled or declined over the past few months.       

Stronger than expected economic data in the U.S. and Europe at the beginning of the year has ebbed into lackluster real gross domestic product growth (RGDP) below 2.0% year-to-date (YTD). Investor sentiment rages on as the bulls are running on a narrower street. High quality bonds and U.S. Treasury bond (TSY) yields are higher than they were prior to November 2016 but they are well below the yields had in mid-January 2017. [More]