A love song for economist Fredrich Hayek

Some weatherproofing ideas for your investments as winter looms.

By Tuesday’s close, all three averages were down 3 percent on the week, and the S&P had given up its post-election gains. Stocks fell as tariffs affected Canada, Mexico, and China. Each country announced retaliatory tariffs of their own, further fanning inflationary fears among investors.

Stocks rallied this week as investors shifted their attention to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming May meeting, with strong earnings from several mega-cap technology companies offsetting renewed regional banking jitters and weak economic data.

The credit spreads on the CDX High-Yield Index widened, which is noteworthy because stocks and credit spreads generally tend to move in the same direction. It also seems that free cash flow for stocks does matter.