Finance & economics | Buttonwood

Surging stocks undermine a hallowed investing rule

Sometimes it is a good idea to fight the Fed

If you are one of the many buyers of American stocks or Treasury bonds in the past four months, or indeed a buyer of most financial assets over the period, then this column has a message for you: congratulations. Not only have you achieved pretty healthy returns—the s&p 500 index of big American firms is up by 15%—but you have done so while violating one of Wall Street’s cardinal rules.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “When to fight the Fed”

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From the February 11th 2023 edition

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