September 10, 2024 In exactly one week, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will be meeting and contemplating lowering short-term interest rates. For the past several weeks, the markets have been counting on the first decrease in rates since the Fed started the cycle of raising interest rates in March of 2022. All indications have […]
Read More September 3, 2024 We are in the middle of bookend labor events this week. We started out with Labor Day on Monday, a time for celebrating the American workers who have made our country a world leader. We will then close the week with the employment report for the month of August. Both events are […]
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August 27, 2024 Mortgage interest rates have already moved significantly lower over the past several weeks. Where they move from here will be determined by many factors – not the least of which is the next jobs report to be released next week. After the weaker report for the month of July another tepid or […]
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August 13, 2024 At the very beginning of the year, we discussed factors that would affect the markets and interest rates in 2024. There were plenty of factors to discuss—from economic growth to the progress against inflation. Most of those factors were “up in the air” – for example, we had no idea how long […]
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August 6, 2024 We have a very busy few weeks of economic news. While the stock market was reaching record highs in July, the month closed with some important news. As July came to a close, the initial reading of economic growth for the second quarter was released. The 2.8% growth rate was seen as […]
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May 21, 2024 It is hard to admit that we are rooting for poorer economic conditions. Less job growth, lower consumer confidence, slower service sector growth, tepid retail sales and more. But if you are a fan of lower interest rates, that is exactly what we need to see in order to bring inflation down […]
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It was just early last year that the markets introduced the concept of higher interest rates for a “longer period of time.” With the economy continuing to grow briskly and inflation coming down, but at a slower pace, there was no reason for the Federal Reserve to rush things. Thus, we pushed off predictions for […]
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If the Federal Reserve is waiting for the economy to slow down before it eases interest rates, there is no doubt that they are watching the monthly jobs report for a significant clue. Thus far this year, there has been no sign that the economy is producing less jobs each month. The pace of the […]
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It is no fun being a member of the Federal Reserve right now. The economy continues to grow in spite of higher interest rates and inflation has calmed down. But inflation is still being a bit stubborn and it is taking a longer time to reach the Fed’s stated goal of 2.0% inflation rate. Here […]
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Believe it or not, today is the first “night” of spring, as the Spring Equinox happens late this evening. This means that we are almost through the first quarter of the year. Spring is especially important not only because of the nice weather and the flowers, but also because it is prime real estate season. […]
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