May 2, 2017 This week we will get evidence of which jobs report was an accurate depiction of the current employment picture. The January and February jobs report showed major increases of over 200,000 jobs. The March jobs report showed a relatively modest increase of just under 100,000 jobs. The average for the past 12 […]
Read MoreApril 25, 2017 Congress is back in session. Not that we are 100% sure that anyone missed them, but certainly there is some unfinished business on the table. For the past few weeks, international news has dominated the markets. Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea and Russia have led this domination, and certainly these world conflicts have […]
Read MoreApril 18, 2017 Actually, we have had a few stark reminders recently. The most recent was the escalation of our engagement in Syria and another, a show of force near the Korean peninsula. Since the election, much of America’s attention has been focused upon domestic issues such as the health care bill, a nomination to […]
Read MoreApril 11, 2017 Every month the jobs numbers are of major interest to analysts who are looking for direction with regard to the economy. In essence, there is no up-to-date economic statistic which is more important, as job growth is the spark which can spur on economic growth, as well as inflationary concerns. In addition, […]
Read MoreApril 5, 2017 We have used some rather broad terms regarding describing the mood of the markets over the past few months. Words such as “confidence” and “uncertainty.” Today we would like to use another word — “anticipation.” One reason for the markets’ confidence in the past several months has been the anticipation of changes […]
Read MoreMarch 28, 2017 No, we are not delving into the world of science fiction. We can’t change what happened. But sometimes it is interesting to wonder what would have happened if an event did not take place. In this case, we are referring to the Federal Reserve Board raising short-term interest rates. As we have […]
Read MoreMarch 21, 2017 Since we spent the past several weeks explaining why the Federal Reserve Board was likely to raise rates last week, we can definitely say that the Fed’s decision was not a surprise — especially since the increase was limited to .25%, which was also expected. A disappointing jobs report could have caused […]
Read MoreMarch 14, 2017 The data is in. The jobs report has been released and the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee is meeting as we release this publication. Keep in mind that the employment numbers are a major factor in affecting the Fed’s decision — but they are not the only factor. The stock market […]
Read MoreMarch 7, 2017 In the past few weeks we have spoken a lot about confidence. Certainly, confidence has been the major influence behind the recent stock rally. It has also influenced the recent movements in rates and oil prices. If this confidence spills over to a hiring spree, then the chances of another rate increase […]
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2017 It has been a whirlwind start to the year with record stock prices and a new administration coming together. And the year could get a bit more interesting with an employment report due out at the end of next week. Of course, the jobs data is always important, but this report could […]
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