Recent problems in the US and Swiss banking systems have led markets to sharply cut interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve. In just a few weeks, traders have changed from expecting four rate hike to wondering whether the Fed will continue its rate hike or even cut interest rates as soon as this summer (Figure 1).SOFR futures curve on March 24th and March 8thFigure 1: Interest rate expectations have changed dramatically in the past few weeksThe sharp change in interest rate expectations is good for gold. Gold is a de facto currency, and almost every major central bank has a large reserve of gold. However, gold is a non-interest-bearing currency. Therefore, when rate hike expectations are formed, gold prices tend to weaken. In fact, since the end of 2021, because investors' expec
The saying "Sell in May and Go Away" is a well-known phrase in the US stock market, which implies that the performance of the US stock market from November to April, during the half-year period, tends to be better than the performance from May to October during the other half-year period. Some people attribute this calendar effect to the impact of the mid-April deadline for US individual income tax filing, while others believe it is because most fund managers tend to be more aggressive in investing at year-end and year-beginning, and prefer to take vacations during the middle of the year. So, is this saying really true? Let's look at the objective data.1. Is the "Sell in May" true in US stock market? The chart below shows historical data from nearly 40 years (1985-2022) of the three major