Weekly Economic Update – March 18, 2019 March 18, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET The big story last week was the sudden grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 passenger jets in dozens of countries. The financial effects of this ban could potentially impact the airline industry and segments of the economy for months.1 While the news created a headwind for the Dow [...]
Weekly Economic Update – March 11, 2019 March 11, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET As in February, investors spent most of the first full trading week of March hoping for new details in U.S.-China trade negotiations. While they waited, stock benchmarks drifted downward. From Monday’s open to Friday’s close, the S&P 500 lost 2.55%, while the Dow Industrials took a 2.66% fall, and the [...]
Weekly Economic Update – March 4, 2019 March 4, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET Stocks lost a little ground as February gave way to March. While domestic and overseas political developments made headlines, the market stayed relatively calm: from Monday’s open through Friday’s close, the S&P 500 ceded but 0.17%, finishing the week at 2,803.69.1 The Dow declined 0.65% in five trading sessions to [...]
Weekly Economic Update – February 25, 2019 February 25, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET Stocks rallied last week as optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal grew. The S&P 500 advanced 0.80% for the week to 2,792.67. The Nasdaq Composite improved 0.86% to 7,527.54, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.64% to 26,031.81. The renewed prospects for a trade pact were not the [...]
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Weekly Economic Update – February 18, 2019 February 18, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET Stocks ended a good week on a high note, as hints of progress in U.S.-China trade talks encouraged investors. When the closing bell rang Friday, the S&P 500 settled at 2,775.60, after rising 2.50% in five days. The Dow Industrials gained 3.09% to close Friday at 25,883.25. The Nasdaq Composite [...]
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Weekly Economic Update – February 11, 2019 February 11, 2019 THE WEEK ON WALL STREET Major U.S. stock benchmarks eked out slight gains last week, with corporate profit reports and news about U.S.-China trade negotiations vying for investor attention over five trading sessions. The big three ended the week little changed from where they settled the previous Friday. The Dow Jones Industrials rose 0.17%, while [...]
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Weekly Economic Update – February 4, 2019 February 4, 2019 FEBRUARY BEGINS WITH SOME EXCELLENT ECONOMIC DATA Payrolls swelled with 304,000 net new jobs last month, according to the Department of Labor’s February employment report. (A Bloomberg survey of economists had projected a gain of 165,000.) The number of Americans temporarily laid off or working part time for economic reasons increased greatly in January as [...]
Weekly Economic Update – January 28, 2019 January 28, 2019 HOME SALES QUICKLY FALTER Seldom do existing home sales fall 6.4% in a month, but that was what happened in December. National Association of Realtors economist Laurence Yun called the drop a reflection of “consumer search processes and contract signing activity in previous months when mortgage rates were higher than today,” and noted that the [...]
Weekly Economic Update – January 21, 2019 January 21, 2019 CONSUMER SENTIMENT HITS A 2-YEAR LOW Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch thought the University of Michigan’s preliminary January consumer sentiment index would display a reading of 97.5. Instead, it came in at just 90.7, dropping 7.6 points from its final December mark to its lowest level since October 2016. Richard Curtin, the economist who has long [...]
Weekly Economic Update – January 14, 2019 January 14, 2019 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MARCH, INFLATION RETREATS December brought a 0.1% decline in the Consumer Price Index, the first in nine months. As in November, cheaper gasoline was a factor: gas prices took a 7.5% monthly fall. The CPI advanced 1.9% across 2018. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2% [...]