December 13th, 2024
Major stock indices were relatively flat this week as November inflation data was released. It showed that consumer prices rose 0.3% in November and the annual inflation rate is 2.7%, all as expected. However, producer prices rose 0.4% in November,…
December 6th, 2024
The November jobs report was released this morning and showed 227,000 jobs created in November vs an anticipated 214,000. However, the unemployment rate ticked a little higher to 4.2% last month. A stronger jobs report could have caused concern for…
November 22nd, 2024
There was no major economic news this week that significantly moved the markets. Instead, attention turned to increased geopolitical tensions early in the week, specifically in Ukraine, before shrugging off those concerns and rallying higher on Thursday. It was a…
November 15th, 2024
The post-election rally fizzled this week. Major US stock indices are lower as markets refocus on inflation and interest rates. Prices were up in October in line with expectations, pushing the annual inflation rate up to 2.6% from 2.4% in…
November 8th, 2024
US citizens elected to send Donald Trump back to the White House for another 4 years this week. He will have a Republican Senate with him for at least 2 years, and possibly a Republican House of Representatives as well….
November 1st, 2024
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the US economy created just 12,000 new jobs in October. This was much lower than the Dow Jones estimate of 100,000, but the weaker month did not impact the unemployment rate which…
October 25th, 2024
Bond yields have been rising quickly this month, spooking investors on Wednesday. Stocks have rebounded since then, but still look to finish the week slightly lower. Rising yields typically mean falling bond prices. In the first part of the year,…
October 18th, 2024
Major US stock indices remain near their all-time highs this month. So far in October, US stocks are slightly higher, while bonds and international stocks are slightly lower. Economic news remains positive. Unemployment claims fell back to 241,000 this week…
October 4th, 2024
With September and the 3rd quarter behind us, we enter the 4th quarter with a lot of positive momentum in the markets and in the US economy. The September jobs number came out this morning and was surprisingly strong. We…
September 27th, 2024
More good news for the US economy this week as the Fed’s favorite inflation measure (PCE Price Index) showed that inflation has fallen to 2.2% according to this indicator. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting PCE to rise…
