The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index repeatedly broke records for months and the risk of a market melt-up should be considered. Are stocks fairly priced? For the answer, we turn to Jerome Powell, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank chairman.
The first quarter of 2021 was marked by a new transition as investors focused on a brightening outlook in our recovering economy, a recovery that began almost exactly one year ago. Increasingly available vaccines and gradual reopenings bolstered confidence and economic growth, not to mention $1.9 trillion of fiscal stimulus in the form of COVID-19 relief. Investors are anticipating the return to a more normal world, reflected in a new rise of bond yields, perhaps the most important change in the financial environment so far this year.
