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Oil prices fell while cryptocurrencies posted modest gains on Monday after US President Donald Trump told reporters that war with Iran could be coming to an end — even as he later ramped up the war rhetoric again on social media.In a phone interview with CBS News on Monday, Trump made it appear that the war in Iran was wrapping up. The US military claims to have struck more than 3,000 Iranian targets in the first week of operations.“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Donald Trump told CBS News. “If you look, they have nothing left. There’s…

U.S. equity markets remain unusually concentrated, with a small group of mega-cap stocks driving a disproportionate share of index returns. While that dynamic has rewarded investors in recent years, it has also raised questions about portfolio risk, diversification, and vulnerability to mean reversion. As advisors look for ways to manage concentration risk without sacrificing long-term return potential, dividend growth investing is re-emerging as a potential solution.   Nick Puncer, managing director and portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor, explores how dividend growth strategies can help manage risk while still aiming for competitive long-term returns.  CM: U.S. equity indices are increasingly dominated by a small group of…

Bitcoin fell nearly 2% in just 15 minutes on Sunday while oil prices rose almost 20% as the escalating Middle East conflict prompted fears of a major supply shortage in the global energy market.Data from decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid shows oil prices rose from $95 to $113.7 per barrel shortly after US futures markets opened, as Iraq warned that roughly 3 million barrels per day of production could be disrupted due to Iranian threats against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.It’s the highest price oil has reached since April 2022, a few weeks after Russia commenced its invasion of Ukraine,…

Lean hog futures were mixed on Friday, with April down a nickel and the rest of the board up 20 to 67 cents. April was down a dime on the week. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $91.69 on Friday afternoon, up $1.95 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was 37 cents higher on March 4 at $90.55.Commitment of Traders data from Tuesday’s close showed managed money increasing their net long in lean hog futures and options by 7,053 contracts to 124,036 contracts. Don’t Miss a Day: From crude oil to coffee, sign up free for…

U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, well below the consensus call for a 60,000 gain and a sharp reversal from January’s 126,000 increase, which was revised down from 130,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Revisions to prior months subtracted another 69,000 jobs, largely in December, leaving payrolls negative in two of the past three months. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3%. The weakness was broad-based, with almost all major sectors losing jobs. Health care, a key engine of job growth in recent quarters, saw declines tied in part to strike activity, while employment in information and the federal government continued…

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, one of the most widely used gauges of crypto investor sentiment, has fallen back down to “extreme fear” levels after briefly recovering on Wednesday.The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is at 18 at the time of this writing, down from the 20 recorded on Friday, according to CoinMarketCap. 20 signals “fear,” an atmosphere of caution among investors, but an improvement over rock-bottom market sentiment.Sentiment briefly spiked to 25 on Wednesday, but contracted as geopolitical tensions between the US, Israel and Iran continue to erode risk appetite and increase macroeconomic uncertainty among market participants. The…

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Friday closed down -1.33%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed down -0.95%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down -1.51%.  March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26) fell -1.39%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQH26) fell -1.58%.Stock indexes fell sharply on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting a 3.5-month low amid concern that the war in the Middle East will keep pushing energy prices higher, sparking inflation. Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times on Friday that the war in the Middle East could “bring down the economies of the world,” and predicted that…

Grant Turner has been appointed Managing Director and Client Portfolio Manager at Forum Investment Group’s Forum Exchange, bolstering the firm’s 1031 and DST distribution capabilities. Turner joins from Ares Wealth Management, where he facilitated over $867M in 1031 exchange transactions, supporting both the Black Creek and Ares Real Estate Exchange platforms. In the newly created role, Turner will help expand Forum’s exchange strategy nationwide, serving as a senior subject matter expert across 1031 exchanges, DST offerings and 721 UPREIT solutions. He will work closely with RIAs, wirehouses, independent B-Ds and HNW advisor networks.  The Inland Real Estate Group, LLC announced that Michael Collins will serve as head of global wealth of Inland Securities Corporation. Collins will report…

Bitcoin (BTC) gets a bad name among some investors due to its steep double-digit drawdowns that punish late buyers, but data suggests the outcome can change with time. Since 2017, investors who bought BTC near the market highs faced losses of about 40%–50% in the next two years, but data shows many of those positions turned profitable when held for longer than three years. By contrast, entries near bear-market lows have historically produced triple-digit percentage returns over similar two to three-year periods. Onchain valuation metrics further help explain where these stronger accumulation zones tend to appear. Bitcoin cycle data reveals…

Fed’s Dual Mandate Is Now at Risk I think the data reveals that our hopes for a steady labor market may have been a little too optimistic. Meanwhile, we’re likely facing a jump in inflation due to soaring crude oil prices, so the economy is looking a little bleak at this time. But we really can’t judge inflation yet because we don’t really know how long crude oil will stay at current levels. Nonetheless, the Fed’s mandates for labor and inflation are both at risk. Fed Likely to Hold in March but Traders Are Pulling Forward Cut Expectations With the…