Momentum & Growth continue to dominate   Diversified US Benchmarks:  Winners & Losers YTD Much like the end of 2023, large cap growth continues to be strong in 2024.  As of 2/23/2024, S&P 500 Growth is beating the S&P 500, 9.88% vs. 6.91%. That being said, there are several other diversified benchmarks that are outpacing S&P 500 Growth.   YTD…

Slaying the inflation dragon is proving to be difficult.   Many people feel a disconnect between the headline CPI number and their own personal reality.  To bring clarity to a sometimes-confusing topic, we turn to our Optimus Inflation Composite, which consists of four separate U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation gauges.   Our Inflation Composite hovered…

FEDERAL RESERVE vs INFLATION The Fed launched a war against inflation.  One measurement shows they are winning, but two other measurements have stalled. When the Fed declared war on inflation in March 2022, the Fed Funds rate target was 0.25% to 0.50%.  Now, just 13 months later, after the fastest rate hike cycle in history, their target is 4.75% to 5.00%.  Based on the large chart below,…