Author Archives: LSAConnect

FOMC Final Meeting

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee completed their final meeting of 2013 a few minutes ago, and while some economists called for the closely-watched tapering decision to be put off until 2014, a $10 billion/month program was announced (with tapered … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

(+) Retail sales for November came in stronger than expected, gaining +0.7% for the month versus an expected +0.6%.  More specifically, the ‘core’ number, that excludes volatile results from autos and gasoline, rose +0.5% relative to the expected +0.3%, and … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

Following the holiday, it was somewhat of a big week for economic reports as we head into the final pre-Christmas stretch. (+) The second estimate of 3rd quarter GDP was revised up substantially from the original 2.8% to 3.6%, which … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed some wonderful bargains on Black Friday.  What is great about Black Friday is that it pushes sellers to offer the best deals to entice price-conscious shoppers. The holiday sales phenomena … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

(+) Retail sales rose +0.4% for October, which exceeded expectations of a +0.1% increase.  Removing the usually volatile automobile, gasoline and building materials components pushed the gain up to +0.5%, which also outperformed the consensus forecast of +0.3%.  The monthly … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

A week shortened by Veteran’s Day left us with fewer data points than usual, but enough to weave a story around. (0/+) Industrial production fell -0.1% in October, which was a bit of a surprise considering expectations called for a … Continue reading →

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The Chairwoman and QE

Janet Yellen had her Senate confirmation hearing this morning to become the Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve when the Bernank’s term ends in January. Now it’s simply a matter of time until she takes the reigns. So what does this … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

(+/0) The advance GDP figure for the third quarter came in at +2.8%, which dramatically surpassed consensus expectations of +2.0% or so.  However, much of the positive impact (0.8% of that 2.8%) came from larger inventory accumulation coupled with a … Continue reading →

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LSA PORTFOLIO REVISIONS

LSA PORTFOLIO REVISIONS As the end of the year winds down, LSA will be making revisions to our Private Client Mutual Fund and our ETF portfolios.  Please note that these revisions will be traded on Monday, November 11th.  In order … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

Since we’re no longer playing ‘catch-up’ with the economic data, there happened to be a lot of it. (+) The Chicago PMI rose significantly higher over the past month, from September’s 55.7 to 65.9 in October (surpassing a forecasted flattish … Continue reading →

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Fed Note

We didn’t expect a lot from this relatively minor Fed meeting, one that doesn’t even offer a press conference afterward.  With QE taper expectations being pushed off again to at least December or January, as well as a 16-day government shutdown that resulted in … Continue reading →

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Weekly Economic Update

Now that the government is back open for business, we again have our flurry of economic items. (0/-) Durable goods orders for September came in mixed, with the headline number gaining +3.7% versus a forecasted +2.3%.  Removing transports from the … Continue reading →

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