Other than large tech stocks, the quarter ended with a relative whimper.

We almost forgot about volatility but it returned this quarter, if not with a vengeance, certainly enough to get our attention.

This quarter’s market returns resemble last quarter’s except they are mostly better.

What’s not to like about the markets this quarter? A review of markets and the economy for the third quarter of 2017.

Review of the markets and economy for the second quarter of 2017.

The “Trump trade” that propelled markets after the election on the hope for loser regulations continued for much of the quarter

Brushing off expectations for a market decline if Donald Trump were elected, the markets reversed by the end of the day after the election.

This period got off to a strong start before somewhat fading towards quarter-end but the quarter was positive overall.

All was relatively calm for most of the quarter, as US stocks floated in a range of about +/-2.5% and international stocks actually rebounded 5%, partly on the expectation that the UK would vote to remain in the European Union.

The slide in stock markets in December continued into January, with the Dow having its worst opening day of the year in 84 years and the Chinese market experiencing such steep declines that it closed for the day after being open for a total of 14 minutes.