Kristina Hooper

Vaccines pave the way for ‘normal life’ to re-emerge in Israel

Weekly Market Compass: As Israel leads the way in COVID-19 vaccinations, events such as concerts and theatre performances return after an 11-month ban.

Continued

Bitcoin: Digital currency, digital gold, or digital tulip?

Weekly Market Compass: Bitcoin has gained credibility over the past three years, but I believe its use as a currency, a diversifier or an inflation hedge is a bit off the mark.

Continued

Could the Year of the Ox be a metaphor for 2021’s global economy?

Weekly Market Compass: As we enter a new lunar year, the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterates its stance on inflation and stimulus

Continued

Are we in a stock market bubble?

Weekly Market Compass: Has “irrational exuberance” gotten the better of markets?

Continued

The U.S. Federal Reserve downplays inflation while GameStop captures the world’s attention

Weekly Market Compass: Market speculation hit a new level this week with GameStop, and the U.S. Federal Reserve threw cold water on inflation concerns

Continued

Economic headwinds pressure the U.S., UK and Europe

Weekly Market Compass: The next few months could be a slog for these economies

Continued

The fifth quarter of 2020

Weekly Market Compass: The economy may not truly turn the page until spring

Continued

Stocks march upward during a tumultuous week in U.S. history

Weekly Market Compass: It was a week of surprise, horror and disappointment. Why didn’t stocks react?

Continued

Weekly Market Compass: Market predictions and investment resolutions for 2021

Market predictions and investment resolutions for 2021

Continued

What to watch as 2020 comes to an end

This is the last blog of the year for me. And what a year it has been — one full of loss. Loss of people, first and foremost, and also of businesses. It was just reported the other day that New York icon The 21 Club will be closing for good, the latest of many service-related businesses to sadly fall victim to the pandemic.  I think we are all eagerly waiting to close the books on 2020 and looking forward to brighter days in 2021. I want to thank the many health care workers and other frontline workers (including grocery store employees, emergency responders and teachers) who have risked their lives this year in the face of the pandemic. I think I speak for all of my Invesco colleagues in saying that I am in awe of you and all you have done this year.

Continued

As COVID cases rise, the world looks toward a vaccine

While I have never lived in Florida, I have spent enough time there since childhood to be familiar with a weather phenomenon referred to as “the mean season.” It describes a brutal weather pattern that typically occurs in the late summer months. Hot, humid mornings are often followed by severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, which blow in from the ocean. However, the rain does not alleviate the heat — it actually exacerbates the heat in the evening, setting the stage for another hot, humid morning to follow. Hurricanes and tropical storms are sprinkled throughout the season, making it even more difficult. Throughout this oppressive weather pattern, there is typically no relief from the heat — and it can last for a month or more. Hence the term “the mean season.”

Continued

Three potential paths for markets in 2021

Continued

Markets gain increased certainty on key issues

The British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “What men want is not knowledge but certainty.” I have been thinking a lot about that quote in the last several weeks, and how especially in such uncertain times, certainty may be more helpful than knowledge in allowing us to move forward.

Continued

Fears of unrest rise on the eve of U.S. Election Day

Well, last week was in fact a Pepto Bismol kind of week, just as I had expected. No fiscal stimulus in the U.S., COVID-19 cases on the rise in Europe and the U.S., and growing concerns about the U.S. presidential election. It’s no wonder that the VIX volatility index has risen dramatically in the last few weeks, from 25 on Oct. 9 to 38 on Oct. 30.¹ As I’ve said before, today’s election concerns aren’t your usual run-of-the-mill worries like we saw in past election cycles. Past questions focused on issues such as “What happens to stocks if corporate taxes go up?” This time around, it is “What happens if there is a contested election?” and “What happens if there is civil unrest?”  

Continued

Stay prepared for a volatile autumn

Well, I feel some serious Pepto-Bismol days coming on, given the impending U.S. presidential election, the declining possibility of another U.S. fiscal stimulus package in 2020, and rising COVID-19 infection rates around the world.  

Continued

Is a Brexit deal still possible?

Continued

Five things to watch in October

This month, I’m watching five key issues that have the potential to impact global markets.

Continued

The debate, the diagnosis, and jobs

Continued

Five questions we’re hearing from investors

There is a feeling of apprehension in markets. I can sense it in the questions I receive. I continue to get more run-of-the-mill queries such as: “Are stocks still overvalued at current levels?” But then there are the new questions, which reflect deeper concerns. Most of the election-related questions I have received are like none I have gotten before in my career.

Continued

What will arise from today’s ‘creative destruction’?

It’s back to school season, and that invariably reminds me of my own education and all that I enjoyed learning when I was in school. One class that I found particularly thought-provoking was a business school class on the history of entrepreneurship. Interestingly, the curriculum started with Joseph Schumpeter, the economist who introduced the concept of “creative destruction,” which Schumpeter developed based on the theories of Karl Marx. Not surprisingly, I have thought a lot about Schumpeter’s views throughout the pandemic.

Continued