Fed Minutes Analysis - Other Risks The Fed Mentioned: Inverted Yield Curve Fed Minutes Analysis - I will continue my discussion in a previous article of the risks the Fed mentioned in its Minutes. The Fed mentioned the yield curve again, but ultimately since it is expected to raise rates in Septembe
Fed Minutes: Are They A Hodgepodge? Fed minutes - Some have commented that the Fed Minutes are a mishmash of various discussions had by investors, members of the media, and economists. That’s probably a harsh way to put it because you can’t expect the Fed to not talk about the news of the day su
Tariff Threats - Again Tariff Threats - I’m amazed at how the market isn’t reacting to the tariff threats President Trump is making since he has already implemented some small ones. At a campaign rally in West Virginia, President Trump repeated his threats to tax European cars. He said, "We're going
Consumer Sentiment and Spending Consumer Sentiment - As online shopping gets close to the double digits as a percentage of overall retail sales, the fate of online shopping becomes the fate of the overall market. Since online shopping is growing faster than physical stores, its importance to growth
Yield Curve Flattens Again Yield Curve - Even though the stock market is within 1% of its record high, the 10 year yield fell 4 basis points to 2.82% on Monday as it is following my prediction. Growth probably won’t get much higher than where it was in Q2 and inflation will decelerate after it
Productivity Growth Improvement Productivity Growth - Another stat which has been in the doldrums in this expansion is productivity growth. Low productivity growth has been called an impediment to real wage growth. It has been so low this recovery, some complain productivity isn’t been measured corr
Momentum - Stocks End The Week On A Positive Note Momentum - This week continued the streak of avoiding a 1% daily move in the S P 500. However, it was a relatively topsy turvy week for stocks as there were two pullbacks. The week ended up nicely since stocks were up on Friday. The S P
Wal-Mart Spikes On Great Earnings Wal-Mart is no longer a growth stock which can keep up with the returns from the FAANG names. However, it is always worth reviewing its earnings report. It's a great barometer for the health of the consumer since it is the biggest retailer in America. The great repo
Retail Sales - Very Strong July Retail sales - the reports have mostly been good. I reviewed the strong Empire Fed reading in a previous article. Now let’s look at the great July retail sales report. The bad news is the June reading was revised lower and the good news is the July reading beat
