Should You Invest in Commodities?

The market has again reminded us that stocks can move in two directions. It's an old story but easy to forget: When inflation expectations rise, so do interest rates--and stock and bond prices fall. For the first time in five years, the consumer price index in 2017 registered an annual increase of more than 2%, and prices rose more than expected in January. The January jobs report showed a jump in wages.

Inflation has yet to reach worrisome levels, but the stock market dropped sharply after each sighting, with investors worried that the Federal Reserve would start aggressively raising short-term interest rates--something we have not seen in a long time. (Through the end of 2017, the Fed had raised rates by a total of just 1.25