April Employment Report Improves Economic Outlook Slightly
June rate hike off table, says former Fed vice chair
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Apple in the Dow
Apple will be joining the country’s largest blue chip
companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index on March 18. On March 9 it
will also be having a media event for its new Apple watch.
The Employment Situation Report for February
The February jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics this week showed U.S. nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 295,000 in
February helping the unemployment rate to decrease to 5.5%. Economists had expected
jobs to increase by 230,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 5.6%.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Saturday, November 29, 2014
November 28 Trading Week
U.S. financial market indexes reported gains for the
shortened holiday trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week
at 17,828.24, up 0.11% for the week. The S&P 500 closed at 2,067.56, up
0.25% for the week.
GDP and information on the PCE Index were highlights for the
week. The seasonally adjusted annual growth rate for GDP was revised up for the
third quarter from 3.5% to 3.9%. The PCE Index showed a 1.4% increase over the
one year period ending in October with a 1.6% increase when excluding food and
energy.
Year to date the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 7.55%
while the S&P 500 has gained 11.86%.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
A Recap of the Federal Open Market Committee's October 2014 Meeting
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ended QE3 in October.
Statement
U.S. Financial Market Indexes Up For The October 31 Week; FOMC Ends QE3
On November 19, it released its meeting minutes from October.
Meeting minutes
With Wary Eye on Global Tumult, Fed Opted to Stay on Policy Path for Now
The new focus will now be on when the FOMC will increase rates.
U.S. Market’s Focus Turns To Rate Increase
Statement
U.S. Financial Market Indexes Up For The October 31 Week; FOMC Ends QE3
On November 19, it released its meeting minutes from October.
Meeting minutes
With Wary Eye on Global Tumult, Fed Opted to Stay on Policy Path for Now
The new focus will now be on when the FOMC will increase rates.
U.S. Market’s Focus Turns To Rate Increase
Monday, October 13, 2014
Third Quarter Financial Sector Earnings
This week a number of financial companies will report their
third quarter earnings including three companies in the Dow Jones Industrial
Average. JPMorgan will report results on Tuesday followed by American
Express on Wednesday and Goldman Sachs on Thursday.
Some key trends to watch in the banking sector include the
following:
More details on American Express and credit card businesses
can also be found here:
Credit Card Company Weekly Notes – MasterCard, Visa And American ExpressSunday, October 12, 2014
Saturday, August 9, 2014
August 8, 2014: U.S. Equity Markets End the Week Higher
DJIA +0.35%
S&P 500 +0.32%
S&P 500 +0.32%
A few good reads on this week's geopolitical activity:
Middle East:
U.S.
Launches Airstrikes in IraqSunday, June 1, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
U.S. Equity Market Recap for the Week of April 25
U.S. equity markets were down slightly for the week ending
April 25. The S&P 500 fell 0.08% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
was down 0.28%. The Russell 3000 which represents the broad U.S. market was
down 0.21%. Large-cap outperformed small-cap for the week shown by a -0.11%
loss in the Russell 1000 versus a -1.31% loss in the Russell 2000. Technology
stocks were also down for the week represented by the NASDAQ Composite Index which
fell 0.49%.
The DJIA which traded evenly for the week was down only
0.28% and saw a number of earnings reports that influenced valuations within
the index. Exxon Mobil, United Technologies, AT&T, McDonald’s, Travelers,
Boeing, Procter & Gamble, 3M, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Verizon and Visa were
among the DJIA companies reporting earnings during the April 25 week.
Microsoft’s earnings were a Dow 30 highlight for the week as
Satya Nadella gave his first earnings
report as CEO and followers were interested in additional information on
the Nokia
deal which reportedly closed on April 25.
Broader economic factors also influenced the market during
the week. On Monday April 21 the Conference
Board reported its Leading Economic Indicators Index which showed
improvement for the U.S. economy in March. Broad market improvements could
indicate increases ahead in U.S. market valuations.
U.S. Credit Market Recap for the Week of April 25
For the week ending April 25, U.S. credit markets saw a
decrease in yields. The one-year nominal U.S. Treasury yield was unchanged at
0.11%. The 10-year and 30-year nominal Treasury yields were both slightly
lower. The 10-year yield fell to 2.68% from 2.73% in the previous week.
Meanwhile, the 30-year Treasury yield was also lower at 3.45% down from 3.52%
in the previous week.
During the week increased risks from issues between Russia
and the Ukraine pushed investors to seek shelter in U.S. Treasury safe havens,
according to T. Rowe Price. Treasury prices increased and yields decreased as a
result.
For the long-term market speculators expect longer-term
yields to increase slightly as the Federal Reserve tapers its asset purchasing
program and gets closer to an increase in the federal funds rate.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
U.S. Inflation Still Below FOMC Target
At the Federal Reserve’s March Federal Open Market Committee
(FOMC) meeting the FOMC reported it would continue to taper asset purchases in
its QE3 program. The FOMC reduced long-term Treasury purchases and mortgage-backed
securities purchases by $5 billion each per month. New Federal Reserve Chairman
Janet Yellen also indicated an increase to the federal funds rate could be in
store in 2015.
The FOMC continues to focus on two main goals for monetary
policy decisions, price stabilization and maximum employment.
Price stabilization centers around a focus on the Bureau of
Economic Analysis’ PCE Price Index report. The most recent report released
on March 28 showed a decrease in the 12-month rate for the PCE Price Index. In
February the 12-month PCE Price Index showed an inflation rate of 0.9%, down
from 1.2% in January. The Core PCE Price Index which excludes food and energy
remained at 1.1%.
The Core PCE Price Index showed continued stabilization in
inflation in the U.S. economy while the PCE Price Index overall declined slightly
to 0.9% and fell farther from the FOMC’s target inflation rate goal of 2.0%.
On Wednesday, April 9 the FOMC will release its March FOMC Meeting Minutes which may provide additional insight into the FOMC’s perspective and outlook for the two U.S. economic indicators that help guide its decisions on monetary policy.
On Wednesday, April 9 the FOMC will release its March FOMC Meeting Minutes which may provide additional insight into the FOMC’s perspective and outlook for the two U.S. economic indicators that help guide its decisions on monetary policy.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
March U.S. Employment Reports
Wednesday, April 2, 2014: ADP National Employment Report
The U.S. private sector added 191,000 jobs in March.
Friday, April 4, 2014: BLS Employment Situation Report
In March the BLS reported a total increase of 192,000 jobs to the U.S. labor market. The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
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