Month: June 2018

Financial News for the Week of June 29, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK The BEA’s third estimate of Q1 real GDP downgraded growth slightly to 2.0%, from 2.2% previously. May data did show flat real personal spending, but strength in March and April still set Q2 consumption up for a decent…


Financial News for the Week of June 22, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK The U.S. economy is barreling ahead with more momentum than we had expected. Our latest forecast upgrades real GDP growth to 3.0% in 2018, from 2.7% in March. 3% is difficult to sustain over the medium term. As the fiscal…


Financial News for the Week of June 15, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK The FOMC raised the fed funds target rate by 25 bp this week. Additionally, median expectations for the fed funds target rose to 2.4% (from 2.1%), suggesting that the committee was leaning toward two more rate hikes this…


Financial News for the Week of June 8, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Next week the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet for the fourth time this year to discuss whether the current level of monetary stimulus is appropriate for the U.S. economy. Well above-trend economic growth and…


Financial News for the Week of June 1, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Fears of fresh elections in Italy spooked investors, who unloaded Italian bonds – sending yields on short-term government debt skyrocketing. By the end of the week, Italy’s populist coalition was finally allowed to form a…