After a nice pop last Friday and an aborted attempt to get it going again on Tuesday, stocks were down 3% for the week through Wednesday. Among the ten U.S. sector iShares, Energy (IYE) and Basic Materials (IYM) have led the market down this week. The “risk-off” movement has sent investors into the safety of the dollar and Treasuries at the expense of stocks and commodities.

What Merry Christmas? What Happy New Year?

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

Progress in EU Leads Market Rally

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

Market Roars Ahead, So What Should We Worry About?

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

Back into the Abyss. Now What?

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

The last several weeks have brought a steady flow of small but important improvements in the domestic economy (see summary below), but investors have shunned risk, keeping the markets spiraling downward.

U.S. stocks are raring to rally. Earnings reports have been quite good. Consumers are spending despite stubbornly high unemployment. Interest rates are at rock bottom, which is good for borrowing and also makes stock yields relatively attractive. So what’s the problem? Oh, just the usual—fear of a European debt meltdown triggering a global recession.

A Slightly Better Outlook

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems