The first quarter of 2024 will go down as the best quarter for U.S. stocks since 2019.

Markets can bend and twist reality in very strange ways when they have decided on a direction. Spoiler alert: The direction right now is upward.

The labor market continues to rebalance, but it’s rebalancing too slowly for the Federal Reserve. Then we received fresh data on Tuesday showing inflation just isn’t coming down.

The defining event of the week was the consumer price index (CPI) report. The CPI numbers for August came in above expectations and dimmed hopes the economy had moved beyond “peak inflation.”

Last week was up and down as the markets focused on a shred of positive comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Wednesday. Although she affirmed the Fed’s commitment to lowering inflation, she said at some point the risks between raising rates and damaging the economy would balance out.

et’s face it: Most women encounter financial challenges most men don’t have. For starters, we tend to earn less, live longer and carry more debt. What’s more, women are more likely to be single later in life — which can pack an economic punch.