While we saw progress on trade agreements, new economic data last week highlight concerns about the bedrock of the U.S. economy –the consumer. Trade agreements closer: Last week saw progress on trade uncertainty as a supplementary “protocol” was agreed to by the U.S., Mexico and Canada to get the changes Democrats wanted to see in the … Continued

The Fed officially left short-term rate policy unchanged at the conclusion of their December meeting today, which was the last meeting in 2019. After three rate cuts this year, the Fed seems set on a steady course in 2020 barring a major change in the economy. The Fed’s official statement acknowledged that economic growth is … Continued

The Fed officially cut the short-term rate policy by a quarter-point, citing slowing economic growth both globally and domestically. This was the third cut this year, so rate policy is back to the range we had in the spring of 2018 before the June 2018 increase. As in September, the decision was not unanimous, as two … Continued

Economic growth slowed in the second quarter and is likely to be much slower in the back half of the year compared with the first half of the year. Tame inflation: Inflation has been tame, mainly as a result of lower prices for food and energy, but now some of the consumer surplus provided by … Continued

The stock market failed to make it four straight weeks of gains as the UAW strike at GM, turmoil in the Middle East, floods in Texas, and global economic weakness collectively dampened moods. The Fed also made news every day, and, when the Fed has to take action, it’s not usually because things are looking … Continued

As was widely expected, the Fed officially cut the short-term rate policy by a quarter point, so their rates are back to the range we had last August before the September 2018 increase. Citing global developments and muted inflation pressures, the Fed decided to cut rates even though there was dissension in the vote with … Continued

Brent crude futures increased 15% yesterday, which was one of the largest single-day jumps in history. The decline in Saudi production due to the Saturday attack on one of the world’s largest oil processing facilities amounts to an estimated 5% of the world’s oil supply. In the U.S., gas prices increased yesterday, but only $0.03 or … Continued

The stock market kept its winning streak going for a third straight week, and again it was mainly related to rising hopes of progress with U.S.-China trade talks. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank beat the U.S. Fed to the rate-reduction punch by lowering its official rate by 10 basis point in the EU – it is now down … Continued

Last week was a light one for new economic data, but the news on home sales this summer looks encouraging with the pace of sales finally seeing gains year over year as a result of lower mortgage rates. U.S.-China trade: The problem for last week was additional actions taken by China and threats from the U.S. … Continued