Consumers prove resilient despite virus
The American consumer is proving more resilient than predicted according to the Los Angles Times. “Its a shift away from vacations. Its a shift away from dining out. Its a shift away from apparel purchases. Its those dollars that you may have invested in those things that now you’re spending on your home and in Read more ➝
The global economy took the elevator down, it may take the stairs back up.
The economy took the elevator down, but may take the stairs back up. At least that’s the opiniion of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin. With more than 90% of global economies set to experience a recession in 2020, it’s easy to see why he feels this way. Add to that an IMF Read more ➝
U.S Hiring Slows
On Friday the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 75,000 Jobs in May, one of the weakest monthly increases since the recession ended in mid-2009. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “The employment figures add to other data depicting an economy that is still growing, but is losing momentum after the first Read more ➝
Home prices fall in Southern California for the first time in 7 years.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported a decline in Southern California home prices for the first time in 7 years. This taken together with a significant drop off in the number of homes sold and a drop in national home prices, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, suggests we may be seeing a Read more ➝
Janet Yellen and the Case of the Missing Inflation
Low unemployment and rising wages usually leads to higher inflation, but so far inflation has remained relatively low. Click HERE to read a New York Times article on what might be causing this and how the Federal Reserve is reacting.
Economic Conditions and Earnings Matter More Than Politics
With the intense focus on every word coming out of Washington DC, its hard to know what to focus on. In Nuveen’s Weekly Investment Commentary, they suggest Economic Conditions and Earnings Matter More Than Politics–a point of view worthy of consideration. To view Nuveen’s entire article, please click HERE.
What To Do After Drop in Equity Markets
This week we saw a significant drop in the U.S. and Global equity markets. To those of you that I have spoken to recently, this should come as no surprise. Earnings for U.S. companies have been declining, quarter over quarter for more than a year and in spite of this, stock prices had been increasing, Read more ➝
Is Angela Merkel Europe’s Economic Bully?
As all eyes are focused on Greece and how they will resolve their debt crisis, attention is rightly turning to Germany, Europe’s economic heart and the driving force behind a push for greater Greek austerity, even in the face of 25% unemployment and clear stagflation. This July 9th article from Bloomberg Businessweek points out that Read more ➝
How the Feds Influence Interest Rates; Explained
Anyone watching the evening news has likely heard about the pending increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve bank. But what exactly are they doing. This article from the Los Angeles Times does a great job explaining the tools at the Federal Reserve’s disposal and how they influences broader interest rate environment. To view Read more ➝
