I was just in North Carolina speaking to clients and got home after midnight. Frankly, it has been a slow morning! So, I thought I would provide some quick takes about points that don’t warrant a full post but are still worth talking about.

Yesterday, the FOMC decided to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate from 2–2.25 percent to 1.75–2 percent. As the headlines put it, the Fed cut rates by one-quarter of a percent. The headline version is certainly pithier, but the first version is more accurate—and gives a better sense of what actually happened: the Fed did not lower rates (contrary to the headlines), but it did lower the target range for its own lending operations.

Brad here. Today, we have a look at the Fed’s recent move into the cash markets from Nicholas Follett, manager of fixed income on our Investment Management and Research team. Enjoy!

The big news over the weekend was the drone attack on the main oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, the attack significantly affected the nation’s ability to deliver oil, knocking production down by half or more according to some estimates (more than 4 million barrels per day). As I write this, no one knows when the damage will be repaired or when Saudi production will return to normal.

As U.S. markets once again approach new highs—after all the drama and the three separate pullbacks last month—I think it makes sense to try to gain some perspective about what is really going on. Immediately after the markets hit new highs last time around, we had quite a bit of volatility. So, it’s reasonable to wonder what will happen next as we approach these highs once again.

I am working on my talk for Commonwealth’s upcoming National Conference, all about interest rates in the new world. The tagline is going to be “Less Than Zero.” Yesterday, I got an endorsement (sort of) from the president, who tweeted that the Fed should lower rates to zero or even below. Clearly, I got the hot topic right this year!

I don’t normally link to scary stories in the media. But one in particular has generated a number of questions from advisors, clients, and even employees here at Commonwealth.

August was a tough month pretty much across the board, with politics rocking markets around the world. So, what should we expect for September? Let’s take a closer look.

Brad here. Today's post on what the Hong Kong protests could mean for global investors is by Anu Gaggar, international analyst at Commonwealth. Take it away, Anu!

Yesterday, we discussed business confidence and concluded that it is better than the headlines suggest. Today, we are going to look at the even more important level of consumer confidence—and whether it may be considerably weaker than it appears.