The economic calendar is light. That leaves plenty of time for the pontificating punditry to opine on a possible turning point in markets, bubbles and overheating, the Fed, geopolitical risks, and continuing Washington turmoil. Many will be asking: What does the increased volatility mean for financial markets? Last Week Recap In the last edition of […]
In the State of the Union address President Trump asserted, “Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs….” This is incorrect, and by a wide margin. In Q2 2017 alone there were 7.6 million new jobs. For a full year, it is more like 30 million. The President (or his speechwriters) made the […]
The economic calendar is normal, but some of the results might not be released on schedule. If the government remains shut down, economic news may take a back seat to the political maneuvering. While we don’t know how that will play out, we can expect an important stream of corporate earnings reports. With competing news […]
The economic calendar is normal, with a holiday-shortened week and some ongoing political worries. Competing with the Washington Circus will be Q417 corporate earnings reports. The former topics will have greater news interest, but investors should be digging into the earnings reports. The earnings story is always a tasty stew – expectations, results, differing measures, […]
Prices are edging higher. There is great interest in how the Fed might react. To understand the implications, we need to start with how inflation is measured and then turn to how the Fed thinks about it. The FRED blog puts the main indicators together in one chart. Key Questions Why use a “core” […]