Printer Friendly Version Bank lending rarely commands the attention that payrolls, inflation, or consumer spending do. But it helps determine how much momentum the economy can sustain. Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans, the workhorse of corporate finance, pay for everything from working capital to machinery and software. When banks are willing to lend and companies…

Printer Friendly Version LPL Research examines rising government debt costs, Treasury market stress, and what investors should watch as higher rates reshape the fiscal outlook. Treasury market headlines. There’s been no shortage of Treasury market headlines lately. Higher oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty, weak Treasury auctions, and monetary policy changes and expectations have all played a…

Printer Friendly Version Stocks continue to climb a wall of worry, a wall that has gotten a bit taller as fall begins. The conflict in the Middle East, higher interest rates, and questions surrounding the enormous artificial intelligence (AI) capital spending boom all present legitimate risks for investors. While each of these challenges could generate…

LPL Research analyzes S&P 500 margin expansion, assessing how much is structural versus cyclical and what that means for future earnings forecasts.

Printer Friendly Version A hot CPI print. Friday’s slightly hot Consumer Price Index (CPI) report lifted the bond market’s odds of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve (Fed) this week to near 90%. Markets take it in stride. The positive reactions from stocks and bonds were interesting, suggesting that perhaps market participants have been…