Monthly Market Update – January 2024
Jobs, Inflation and the Federal Reserve Jobs, inflation, and expectations around what the Federal Reserve may or may not do continue to be the focus of markets as 2024 begins. The latest jobs report showed December exceeded most economists’ expectations, with the economy adding 216,000 jobs(1), surpassing estimates by 41,000(2). Further, wages rose more than […]
Monthly Market Update – December 2023
The Delicate Balance: interest rates, labor market and consumer sentiment In their final meeting of 2023, the Federal Reserve signaled a dovish pivot by updating their interest rate projections, indicating multiple rate cuts for both next year and 2025(1). The updated forecast suggests a lower path for the federal funds rate, with the Federal Reserve […]
Monthly Market Update – November 2023
Inflation slowing In October, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed inflation was flat on a monthly basis, slowing considerably from the 0.4% increase in prices in September(1). The yearly increase of 3.2% was helped by falling gas prices, which fell 5%, though food prices continue to increase. If gas prices continue to fall, then November’s […]
Monthly Market Update – October 2023
Stocks, bonds and inflation September proved challenging for global stocks and bonds, marking the worst month for stocks in a year, with the S&P 500 down by 5%, and the weakest performance for bonds since February. This was spurred by news that the Federal Reserve plans to keep monetary conditions tight for an extended period(1). […]
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 […]