Financial News for the Week of September 28, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Fed hiked rates by 25 bps this week as widely expected. But, the communiqué dropped the reference to policy remaining “accommodative”. Interpretations regarding this change led to volatility in bond yields and equities. The…
Financial News for the Week of September 21, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK U.S. equity markets were unbowed by escalating trade actions between the U.S. and China this week. The S&P500 reached new highs bolstered by healthy earnings reports and growth in share buybacks. Equity market optimism is…
Financial News for the Week of September 7, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Concerns about emerging markets continued to weigh on investor sentiment this week, with the selloff in EM assets and currencies spreading beyond Turkey and Argentina. Meanwhile, domestic data remained positive. ISM indices…
Financial News for the Week of August 31, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Markets reacted positively to developments that the U.S. and Mexico had reached a trade deal. Details still need to be finalized, including Canada’s position. A revised, trilateral agreement looks unlikely to be achieved…
Financial News for the Week of August 24, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Financial markets jitters have eased somewhat this week as concerns about emerging countries have temporarily subsided, helped in part by a lower U.S. dollar. Economic data was mixed. U.S. business investment remained upbeat…
Financial News for the Week of August 17, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Concerns about Turkey drove market volatility this week, but U.S. equity markets managed a rebound. Strong retail sales and historically-high small business optimism suggest a strong economic expansion in the U.S. this…
Financial News for the Week of July 13, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK For the second week in a row, action on Chinese import tariffs dominated the economic news, but markets remained positive overall, likely reflecting relief that oil prices have come off their recent highs. Since China…
Financial News for the Week of July 6, 2018
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK A holiday-shortened week was nevertheless chock-full of data releases that confirmed the U.S. economy continues to expand at a strong above-trend pace. Economic activity remains robust, but there are signs that trade…
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…