Tragedy struck the nation of New Zealand on Friday when a shooting occurred at two mosques killing at least 49 people; the suspect involved had used social media platforms to broadcast his violence which will likely add fuel to the criticism of big tech firms and their ability to monitor content. In the U.K. critical votes on Brexit ultimately lead to Parliament’s decision to seek an extension on the March 29th deadline – still needed to be accepted by the EU. This week the FAA joined many other countries around the world in grounding the Boeing 737 Max after a crash on Sunday with striking similarities to one several months back in Jakarta.

U.S. large company stocks had their strongest weekly gain since November with over a 3% advance and erasing last weeks decline. Small cap stocks and global equities also added to YTD gains with each of these risk assets now having over a 10% 2019 return. The equity rally happened despite data pointing to a loss in momentum in the global economy; expectation is that central banks will have to tone down their plans to increase interest rates. In tandem with the move in equities, Treasury and fixed income investments posted positive returns as the yield curve dipped slightly.

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