Market & Economic Analysis

"Study the past if you would devine the future." - Confucius

Macro: September Retail Sales

The street applauded this number and bond yields soared. The market initially sold off as bond yields hit 4.83%, a new cycle high. Stocks were down as much as 1.5% before recovering all their losses by lunchtime. I think the retail sales number confirms the strength of the 3rd quarter. Optimism for earnings is currently outweighing higher interest rates. In [...]

By |2023-10-17T13:06:42-04:00October 17th, 2023|Economy|

The Happiest Workers are 65 and Older

If you’re 65 years old and still working, you may be part of an elite group of American workers. Pew Research Center, in its latest jobs survey, found that employees aged 65 and older are the happiest employees in the workforce. The survey found: Two-thirds of those 65+ are extremely or very satisfied with their jobs, compared with: 55% of [...]

By |2023-10-17T09:17:07-04:00October 17th, 2023|Markets|

Macro: Empire State Manufacturing Survey

Our first look at October numbers. Similar to the consumer sentiment report, we did see a down tick from last month and the survey did go back into negative territory. But, from a broader perspective we are still trending positive off the lows at the end of 2022.     Disclaimer: This information is presented for informational purposes only and [...]

By |2023-10-16T13:28:19-04:00October 16th, 2023|Economy|

Macro: Consumer Sentiment

The consumer is pessimistic relative to history. There was a down tick from last month. We don't know if the down tick means anything. The same thing happened in May and the consumer became more optimistic over the next 3 months. The broader trend is still up off the historic lows at the of 2022.

By |2023-10-16T13:29:47-04:00October 16th, 2023|Economy|

Weekly Market Pulse: Prophets of Doom

I said a couple of years ago that I thought that once all the distortions were past, we'd be back to where we started prior to COVID, but with more debt. The decade from 2010 to 2020 was the slowest decade of nominal GDP growth since WWII and the prospect of another decade of that wasn't all that appealing but [...]

Macro: Sep CPI stuck at 3.7% YOY

The most anticipated release of the week came in ... "Unchanged" or sticky stuck from August at 3.7% yoy. But it's worth mentioning as we will discuss below that this is up from June CPI which was 3.09% yoy. Core CPI which excludes food and energy because of their volatility sits at 4.13% yoy down from 4.39% last month. Let's [...]

By |2023-10-13T03:39:59-04:00October 12th, 2023|Markets|

Weekly Market Pulse: Good News Is Good News

The employment report on Friday seemed like a good one. The unemployment rate was unchanged as the economy added 336,000 jobs in September. The gains were widespread with additions in manufacturing, construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation, warehousing, leisure and hospitality, healthcare and education, and government. Average hourly earnings were up 0.2% for the month and 4.2% year-over-year. It was [...]

Student Loans

Ah, the college experience! There’s a lot of growing up that happens in those four years—finding out who you are, learning to be even more independent, and for some, learning to do their own laundry. But one thing is certain. No matter when you go to school or where, it’s going to be expensive.   What drives the cost of [...]

By |2023-10-02T08:49:43-04:00October 2nd, 2023|Markets|
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