A September Rate Cut is on the Table, Softer Economic Data Raises Worries As expected, the Federal Reserve kept its key rate, the fed funds rate, unchanged at 5.25 – 5.50%. After holding the fed funds rate steady for a year, Fed Chief Jay Powell twice-mentioned that a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...