As we approach the October 31st year end for mutual funds, it will be interesting to see if the typical seasonal stock market weakness develops–the other possibility being that ETFs have become a large enough influence on market behavior that any downdrift will be mild.

It’s also possible that political developments, like the amazing increase in presidential power, unchecked by Congress; or the deployment of armed US troops on domestic soil; or the continuing deportations by ICE that shrink the domestic workforce will play a larger role in market sentiment than they have to date. You can find my Keeping Score page here.