"The downtrodden yearned for stories to explain their misfortunes, though what they really wanted was somebody to blame for their misery. It was impossible to set fire to the blight that had ruined your crops, but a blight was easily summoned by a witch, at which point any poor woman would do.”
– Stuart Turton, award-winning English author of historical, science fiction and supernatural mystery novels
The Through Line: As the two-month spooky season comes to an end, equity markets remain near-record highs. Once again, investors have shown their ability to ignore folklore when solid fundamental underpinnings are present. Bond prices have also remained rooted in evolving fundamentals (particularly for intermediate to longer maturities) and recovered much of the ground they lost earlier in September. Even so, the media narrative is still fixated on a witch hunt aimed at finding a party spoiler – perhaps because four years of double-digit stock gains seem too magical to believe. This week, we examine the drivers in key market segments, searching for signs of enchanted thinking.
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