Since October, an index of commodities that includes oil and copper has swung from gains of 20 percent to losses for the year. A similar move took place in risky corporate bonds. So far this year, after another steep drop on Friday, the S&P 500-stock index is down about 2.8 percent. “In a typical year there’s going to be some winners and losers,” said Ed Clissold, chief United States strategist at the equity market research firm Ned Davis Research. Money in the bank earned next to nothing, so investors eagerly bought anything they expected to generate some kind of return: risky debt, real estate, stocks, technology start-ups.

Source: New York Times December 15, 2018 10:00 UTC