Market Commentary, July 29, 2024

Brisk Pace for GDP The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest measure of goods and services, expanded at a brisk annualized pace of 2.8% in the second quarter. That’s up from 1.4% in the first quarter and well...

Market Commentary, July 22, 2024

Two Graphs and a Data Table… …And they all come to the same conclusion. What’s going on? The labor market is moving back into balance. No longer do we come across articles touting the Great Resignation. In 2021 and 2022, it was ‘advantage employee.’ Employees still...

Market Commentary, July 15, 2024

Another Soft Inflation Number Bolsters the Case for Lower Rates In 2021 and 2022, soaring inflation sparked the most aggressive series of rate hikes in decades. While prices remain high, the rate of those price increases has slowed, and the Federal Reserve may finally...

Market Commentary, July 8, 2024

At First Glance, Another Solid Jobs Report The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payrolls rose a solid 206,000 in June, topping the consensus forecast offered by Bloomberg News of 190,000. However, first glances may not always leave the...

Market Commentary, July 1, 2024

An AI Bonanza Rally mode—that’s been the theme for the major market indexes since the market bottomed out in late 2022. But it comes with a caveat, as we’ll discuss in a moment. Advancing 14.48% in 2024, including nearly 4% in the second quarter, the broad-based...

Market Commentary, June 24, 2024

Mixed Signals Much has been made of the remarkable resilience of the American economy. Forecasters who confidently called for a recession in 2023 got it wrong. So far this year, the economy is generating new jobs, and the U.S. economy has yet to falter. Notably,...