The Markets The Delta variant could take a toll on economic growth. There was some good news last week. The 7-day moving average of COVID-19 cases in the United States declined. The bad news was that the rate of infection remained about 99 percent higher than it was one year ago. As Delta variant infections surged across… Read more »
Category: Weekly Market Commentary
Weekly Market Commentary September 7, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets Stagflation isn’t trending, but it was mentioned in quite a few headlines last week. Stagflation is a portmanteau of ‘stagnation’ and ‘inflation.’ It occurs when a country experiences slow economic growth along with high inflation and high unemployment. In the United States: Economic growth was strong during the second quarter; 6.5 percent year-over-year,… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary August 31, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets “Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder,” advised the Persian poet Rumi. Last week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s words helped grow the week’s equity market returns. In his speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell confirmed that the United States… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary August 24, 2021
Posted by Christina Michalczak & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets Markets were shaken last week by a potent cocktail of central bank tapering and economic growth concerns mixed with coronavirus and a splash of the new Chinese privacy law. On Wednesday, the minutes of the United States Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee Meeting were released. They confirmed the Fed could begin tapering –… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary August 18, 2021
Posted by Christina Michalczak & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets What is the most important driver of economic growth in the United States? The most common way to measure economic output is Gross Domestic Product or GDP. It’s the value of all goods and services produced in our country over a specific period of time. GDP is a combination of the following: Government… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary August 11, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets Are we there yet? For months, investors have wondered when the Federal Reserve (Fed) might begin to “normalize” its policies, a process that will eventually lead to higher interest rates. Last week, a better-than-expected unemployment report – showing a gain of almost a million jobs – sparked speculation about whether we’ve arrived at… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary July 28, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets Shortest ever. Last week, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finally announced the official dates for the recession that occurred in 2020. Economic activity peaked in February 2020 and bottomed in April 2020. That makes the pandemic recession the shortest in American history. According to the NBER, “The recent downturn had different… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary July 21, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets The term “peak growth” has become almost as popular as the comedy show Ted Lasso. Peak growth is a catchphrase with the potential to mislead. When the term is applied to the U.S. economy, it does not mean the United States economy has reached the pinnacle of growth and it’s all downhill from… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary July 14, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets There was a gapers’ block in financial markets last week as equity investors slowed to see what the United States Treasury bond market was up to. U.S. Treasury bonds rallied last week. Yields on 10-year Treasuries dropped from 1.43 percent at the start of the week to 1.27 percent on Thursday. The rally… Read more »
Weekly Market Commentary July 7, 2021
Posted by Marybeth Rose & filed under Weekly Market Commentary.
The Markets The world is about halfway back to normal. The Economist developed the Global Normalcy Index (GNI) to measure the post-pandemic return to normal. In March 2020, the GNI was 35 overall, with 100 being the normal pre-pandemic level. At the end of the second quarter, the worldwide GNI was 66, or about halfway… Read more »