Ever wonder why the month of February has only 28 days? After all, we could have used a few extra days this year with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing February with an 11% year-to-date gain.
Myth has it that in Roman times, February was short changed when Augustus Caesar was reorganizing the calendar to add time to his namesake month, August. The accepted truth is that February is short because it occurred at the end of the Roman year and was the victim of the need to get the number of days to fit the annual calendar.
Our modern day politicians are seeking ways to get their agenda to fit the calendar as well. After several weeks of government shut down, we finally have a bill that keeps the doors open and the lights on in the capital. This resolution brought some calm to the markets and investor sentiment over the last few weeks. Which leads us to the question. Why worry? Despite the volatility that affected the end of 2018, we can see that the domestic economy closed out the 2018 year at 2.6% which was better than expected. Will March continue the positive trend or are we in for “Et Tu, Brute?” for the markets?
-The Leisure Capital Management Team
