Paying the Price?
Forcing interest rates downward began with the Federal Reserve introducing “Quantitative Easing” (QE), in November 2008, to rescue our economy from the mortgage bust… which turned into the Great Recession! The S&P 500 fell approximately 57% from it’s peak in 2007, to it’s bottom in March 2009. Over the weekend, most journalists/economists are suggesting what […]
SVB – Inflation – Oh boy!
The economy and the markets are now even more complicated! Prior to mid-last week, inflation was the daily topic of conversation. Now to complicate matters… Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), our nations 16th largest bank, was placed into receivership by the FDIC. What happened? SVB primarily serves start-up technology companies. These companies typically have challenges obtaining […]
Two Steps Forward, One Step Backwards
January witnessed stock and bond market indexes all moving higher, as optimism permeated due to tame inflation numbers. February brought us several higher inflation reports, sending stocks and bonds lower. March rolled in with a positive first week, breaking a 3-week streak of markets moving downward. Last week, the Dow moved higher by 1.85%, the […]
The Inflation Battle
Let’s hope January’s inflation numbers that were released this month will not continue! Last Friday’s Personal Consumption Index (PCE) increased from 5.3% in December to 5.4% in January. The “Core,” stripping out food and energy also increased from 4.6% to 4.7%. These numbers are on the back end of hotter than expected CPI and PPI […]
Trifecta Last Week!
Three important pieces of inflation information all came out hotter than expected. The Consumer Price Index registered an increase of .5% for the month of January. The Producer Price Index increased by .7%. Retail sales, not to be outdone, increased in January by a surprising 3%! This adds uncertainly to the current path for the […]
Taxes/Medicare and Inflation
Filing your income taxes is typically not the most enjoyable task. It’s the unexpected outcome that can give us the chills. There is not much you can do about your 2022 tax liabilities at this point, unless you’re eligible for an IRA deduction or are self-employed. For those age 63 or older, pay attention to […]
A Balloon Makes Headline News!
I bet no one thought a balloon would be front and center news this past weekend. I certainly did not! I must say, if the balloon did veer off course because of weather, why didn’t China simply let us know? My guess…. we may never know the reality. Speaking of reality, Friday’s job report stating […]
The Good and The ?
Last week the market rose handsomely; 4th Quarter GDP came in at 2.9%, and the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Price Index Core rate fell from 4.7% to 4.4%. In addition, China is attempting to re-open and corporate profit reports thus far, have not been as negative as anticipated. Stocks rose with the […]
Stocks, Bonds… Which is Correct?
What part of the market is right? Is it the stock market, or is it the bond market? Bond yields have come down, pushing prices higher so far in 2023. The Bond market is attempting to price in a recession as many believe the economy and corporate earnings drift downward over the next several months. […]
