The first week of May brought a deluge of economic data, including the April jobs report, key surveys on business activity, and some important readings on inflation. Add in a Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting, and it’s fair to say that the m

The U.S. economy grew at 2.3% in the first quarter, better than the consensus estimate of 2.0%, but a slowdown from the near 3% growth of the prior three quarters. Persistent problems with seasonal adjustment of first quarter data and a lull in consu

Beige Book Suggests Continued Moderate Economic Growth

The latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Beige Book, released Wednesday, April 18, 2018, sustained a positive view of the U.S. economy. The Beige Book is a qualitative assessmen

Producer and consumer prices moved higher in March, but both remain manageable. Inflation has been a major topic for financial markets in 2018, with concerns initially sparked by a January wage growth number that exceeded expectations. Wage growth co

Increasing trade tensions weighed on markets during the first week of April, and a weak March jobs report added to concerns, but in this market a little perspective can go a long way. The S&P 500 Index fell on April 6, but the drop may have seeme

After such a calm 2017, it was reasonable to expect higher volatility in 2018, and February and March certainly delivered. As the quarter came to a close, the S&P 500 Index finally snapped a nine-quarter win streak, but we think the bull market s

Beige Book Suggests Continued Moderate Economic Growth

The Federal Reserve (Fed) was in the news last week, as markets digested the March 20–21 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting statement. The outcomes of the meeting were broadly

Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jay Powell will preside over his first Fed policy meeting March 20 – 21. Although this is his first meeting as chair, Powell has been a voting member of the policy committee since 2012 and is a seasoned veteran of Fe

The February employment report crushed expectations for the number of jobs created (313,000 versus the consensus expectation of 205,000), but wage growth moderated from the surprising January levels. January’s numbers were also revised higher f

On March 1, 2018, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports. The S&P 500 Index fell 2% on the news before rallying over the last two hours of trading to f