Monthly Market Update – September 2023
Inflation: Surging energy and gas prices Despite recent optimism about declining inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded its largest monthly increase this year, up 0.6% in August(1). On an annual basis, prices rose 3.7%, compared to 3.2% in July(1). Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in August, marking […]
Monthly Market Update – August 2023
The economy, consumer spending and the Feds The economy remained strong in the second quarter, with growth accelerating and GDP rising at a 2.4% annualized rate compared to 2% in the first quarter(1). Consumers continue to propel the economy forward, with consumer spending growing at a 1.6% rate during the quarter (1) and headline retail sales […]
Monthly Market Update – July 2023
Technology Stocks Stocks surged in the first half of the year driven by mega cap technology, or technology-adjacent, stocks. These top stocks have been dubbed the “Magnificent 7” by the media and include Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Tesla. Together, those firms contributed nearly three-fourths of the S&P 500’s gains(1). While headlines are […]
Monthly Market Update – June 2023
Recent comments and data releases from the Federal Reserve indicate their intention to reshape market expectations for the remainder of this year and into 2024.
May 2023 Market Update
Inflation, Employment Data, and Interest Rates The inflation report for April indicated the Consumer Price Index (CPI) may not be falling quickly enough to support the current market expectations of significant interest rate cuts by the end of the year. Bloomberg Economics suggests that the Federal Reserve is now prioritizing credit indicators and is likely […]
April 2023 Market Update
The Economy and Labor Market Consumers are the largest and most important part of the US economy, and their ability to drive it has been critical over the last year or so. Sentiment data has shown pessimistic views of the economy, but the tight jobs market has been a key point of the consumers’ resilience […]
February 2023 Market Update
It’s raining data! The American consumer continues to enjoy considerable winds at their back from a tight labor market. In January, businesses dramatically surprised markets by adding 517,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4%(3), the lowest since the late 1960s. There have been many headlines of large layoffs, but so far they have not […]
January 2023 Market Update
Improving inflation & consumer sentiment December now marks three months in a row with improving news on inflation. Monthly prices declined by 0.1% in December and annual prices increase by 6.5%, down from a 7.1% increase in November(1). However, core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, did tick up during the month, rising […]
December 2022 Market Update
Cooling Inflation and strong labor market In its last meeting of the year, the Federal Reserve raised rates by another 50 basis points, bringing the target policy rate to 4.25%-4.5%, up from 0%-0.25% at the start of this year. The meeting followed a better-than-expected inflation report that showed that both yearly headline and core inflation […]
November 2022 Market Update
Positive GDP and CPI Recent positive economic developments include third quarter GDP rising at a 2.6% annualized rate(1). Also, inflation is showing some signs of slowing, with the yearly change in the Consumer Price index falling from 8.2% to 7.7%2. The GDP report essentially puts to bed the discussion of currently being in a recession, […]
