economy

Quote of the day: “The bull market could continue forever”

Strategist Jim Paulsen just said the perfect quote to be scoffed at on social media. Of course he doesn't believe this but it makes for the headline of the day for CNBC. Gotta love it. In the past, you would probably say that this signals a market top but if you look below the headline, his bullish case is much like ours. He just said the quote to gain more views and mission accomplished on that.

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5 bullish quotes from earnings season

The S&P 500 is roughly halfway through earnings season with 237 companies having reported. It has been a very strong period so far with 79% of companies beating expectations vs an average 73% over the last 10 years. Earnings are on track for double-digit growth once again and this should be a bullish catalyst for the market in the second half of the year. As we discussed in our last quarterly webcast for clients, reported earnings continue to accelerate and we view this as extremely positive for the stock market. Here is the chart from our call:

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One night in Las Vegas

I remember visiting Vegas as a teenager. My family stayed at the Excalibur Hotel and there was a lot of entertainment for kids with arcades and kid friendly games. We waited in line for the $1.99 steak buffet dinners. Parking was always free. Fast forward to 2017 and that Vegas is long gone and today's Vegas is much more flashy and expensive. The cheap buffets have been replaced by celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Thomas Keller. You can easily drop $50 just on lunch. Maybe I haven't looked very hard but I don't see any video arcades anymore. It is now all grown up entertainment from magicians to Celine Dion to Britney Spears to Jerry Seinfeld. And  lots of people walking around with giant alcoholic beverages. This is the first time that I was hit with a mandatory $35 resort fee for wifi and not sure what else. And even free parking is gone. The casinos finally figured out that they could be collecting millions of dollars instead of giving it away – kind of feels like how the airlines charge for every little thing and it adds up fast.

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Confident Americans set to spend record amount on summer vacation

For the next couple of months, your Facebook and Instagram feeds will likely be dominated by beach holiday photos, beers in the sand and people's legs at the pool. School is out for summer and people are ready to vacation!

American consumers are as confident as ever and this should translate to a great summer spending season. This summer, Americans are expected to spend a total of $101.1 billion on vacations this year, representing a robust 12.5% increase from 2016, according to projections from the Vacation Confidence Index released Wednesday by insurance company Allianz Global Assistance. This is the first time in the index’s eight-year history that spending has exceeded $100 billion.

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This is why the stock market will go up from here

The first half of the year has come and gone. The S&P 500 ground its way higher and finished the first half up 9.3%. Unsurprisingly it has been robust S&P earnings that drove the markets to new all-time highs. Reported earnings were up 18% year over year. Despite the new administration's failure to pass new tax policy so far, analysts weren't expecting much movement in 2017 so earnings estimates haven't disappointed in the least. In fact, companies have continued to beat expectations on the top and bottom line and we expect more of the same in the second half. This has the Runnymede investment team optimistic heading into the second half of the year. As the market continues to hit new highs, there seems to be a guru warning of the next crash on a weekly basis. Just ignore the noise for now.

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