Inflation is the talk of the town right now, and it sure seems to be enjoying its time in the limelight after many years sitting out. But how worried should we be? The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of the prices we are paying for goods and services, was up 4.2% in April from...Read More

In a world where the ten year Treasury note yields 0.6% it is hard to remember the time of decent fixed income yields.  Who would have thought we’d look back at the previous decade of low interest rates and think “those were the good old days.” Turns out, yield is as hard to come by...Read More

The Situation Now seems as good a time as any to take a break from virus news and economic projections, so let’s talk about LIBOR. The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) has long been the benchmark on which collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) are based. This benchmark rate is used for more than just CMOs. Many...Read More

This is the way the expansion ends, “not with a bang but a whimper.”[1] Though T.S. Eliot’s oft-quoted poem isn’t actually about our economic expansion, its final line does ring true in this case.  As we mentioned in our last letter, this interest rate cycle has been a wimp itself, so it is no surprise we...Read More

In the large, friendly letters of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, DON’T PANIC.  We are well aware of the dip in bond market values that is reflected in portfolios.  Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yield, so as interest rates rise, the value of existing bonds decreases.  What doesn’t change,...Read More

Despite what seem to be ever-increasing risks in the global economy, the stock market continues to push skyward.  While this may be a sign of economic resilience, it is just as likely to be a sign of people trying to get on board the gains train.  Even those who find the stock market risky, after...Read More

Spring is finally here!  At least, for now it is.  Spring time usually means an uptick in the housing market, as the warm weather and end of the school year entices more people to move.  That means increased prepayments on mortgages, and faster pay down on mortgage-backed bonds like the ones in Cooper Capital portfolios. ...Read More

You may have noticed an increase in stock market activity over the last week.  Since last Friday we’ve seen several major swings in equities in both directions, with the ultimate result being a 10% correction in stock prices.  Some (ourselves included) would say this is long overdue, considering what seemed to be an endless rally...Read More