LSA Connect

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on November 8, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 11-07-2016

Economic news was highlighted by the Fed’s lack of action (which really was no news), while manufacturing activity was again mixed and non-manufacturing/services growth pared back a bit. The employment situation report again disappointed relative to expectations, but wasn’t a complete loss, either.

Equity markets declined during the week in both the U.S. and aboard with election jitters and other policy headlines. Bonds fared far better as interest rates across the yield curve declined. Commodities fell sharply led by the price per barrel of oil dropping by several dollars on more supply concerns.

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Fed Note

Posted on November 3, 2016 by LSAConnect

Fed Note:

The FOMC decided to take no action at the end of their early November meeting. With a ‘unique’ Presidential election just a few days away and no Q&A scheduled for this minor meeting anyway, nothing dramatic was expected. There were two dissenting votes for this decision, one fewer than during the September meeting.

In their official statement, the FOMC noted that the case for a rate increase has strengthened, but decided to wait for further progress towards its objectives. This includes an acknowledgement that inflation has increased further toward the committee’s objective of 2%. Similar to recent meetings, strength in the labor market and consumer spending were noted, while business fixed investment remains soft.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on November 1, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 11-01-2016

Economic data for the week showed mixed results, with a decent GDP report for Q3, but weaker durable goods orders. Real estate prices showed continued gains, as did pending home sales, while new home sales came in a bit weaker than expected.

Global equity markets were generally lower, with mixed earnings and economic data. Bonds lost ground as well, as interest rates rose along with expectations of a Fed hike in December. Commodities declined in line with the price of oil falling by a few dollars a barrel.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged 1st Quarter GDP, bps, China, Commodities, CPI, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on October 24, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 10-24-2016

Economic data last week offered mixed results for manufacturing and industrial production, as well as housing, while official inflation picked up a bit due strength in energy/gas prices. Overall activity as described by the Fed Beige Book was a bit better than the previous month.

Equity markets were generally positive around the world, with foreign regions outperforming domestic. U.S. Bonds also fared well with interest rates falling in key portions of the yield curve. Commodities ended the week flattish with minimal net movement in oil, the usual key driver.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on October 17, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 10-17-2016

In a lighter week for economic data, retail sales came in stronger than in the previous few months, but remained lackluster. Producer inflation picked up slightly, consumer sentiment fell a bit while labor was mixed with a drop in job openings but continued low jobless claims.

Global equity markets generally lost ground on the week, foreign markets outperforming U.S. in local terms, but the gains being reversed by a stronger dollar. Bonds were mixed, with small positive results in the U.S. and losses in foreign debt due to the dollar effect. Crude oil gained ground again, leading the commodity group upward.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on October 10, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 10-10-2016

Economic news last week was highlighted by strong reports in ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing, and a decent but not outstanding September employment situation report. The combination of data led to increased expectations for a Fed rate hike in December.

Equity markets were generally negative for the week, as was most fixed income, due to a rise in interest rates. Commodities, however, were surprisingly resilient, led by continued gains in the price of crude oil.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on October 3, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 10-03-2016

In week packed with economic data, results showed weaker housing numbers for the prior month, flattish personal income/spending but somewhat stronger industrial numbers and consumer sentiment, and continued strong/low jobless claims.

Equity markets experienced small positive gains in the U.S. and were mixed overseas in a see-saw type week. Bonds gained a bit as well, with interest rates declining slightly worldwide, with U.S. corporate high yield leading the way. Oil prices jumped by several dollars upon OPEC members seeming to agree on production cuts.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on September 26, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 9-26-2016

Economic data for the week was largely focused around the FOMC meeting, where no interest rate policy action was taken. Several housing metrics came out during the week, to mixed results, with stronger pricing and homebuilder sentiment, but weaker sales volume and starts/permits.

Stock markets rose globally with Fed policy holding steady, and Japan going a bit further, although gains were stronger abroad than domestically. For similar reasons, bonds fared well on the week with the decline in interest rates. Commodity indexes gained, led by a rise in oil prices.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged 1st Quarter GDP, bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Housing, housing starts, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, Taper, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Fed Update

Posted on September 21, 2016 by LSAConnect

Fed Note:

The September FOMC meeting ended with no action. For those hoping for some activity after some hawkish Fedspeak, this proved again to be a disappointment, but was not really a surprise for most. Three members did dissent on this lack of action—wanting a rate hike now—and the statement alluded to a rate hike being likely in the near future, after ‘further evidence of continued progress towards its objectives’. Risks were described as being roughly balanced, with overall growth picking up somewhat from earlier in the year, strong labor and household spending, but weaker business investment (more on these below).

Once a quarter, including for this meeting, released materials included additional projections for economic growth and inflation, as well as the ‘dot plot’, a graph introduced in 2012 as a way of showing anonymous FOMC member interest rate projections for the coming year and beyond. These projections have been inconsistent, as growth, inflation and rates have all fallen short of expectations. Actually, there’s been some call for the Fed to drop the dot plot, since these haven’t been very accurate, and the constant tweaks seem to be creating more confusion than they’re alleviating. Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged 3rd quarter GDP, bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on September 20, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 9-19-2016

There were a flurry of economic data releases last week, with results tilted toward the negative—included were disappointments in retail sales and manufacturing, while consumer sentiment was a little better than expected, and jobless claims remain very low. Inflation also remains flattish, in line with the recent cyclical trend.

Equity markets experienced more volatility than during the last few summer months, but gained a bit on net in the U.S., while generally losing ground overseas. Bonds experienced a lackluster week as well, upon higher interest rates. Commodities lost ground thanks to a weaker dollar and higher perceived oil supply conditions.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on September 12, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 9-12-2016

In a light week for economic data, the key release was a disappointing ISM non-manufacturing number, while JOLTs and jobless claims showed continued labor market strength. A key question focused on by market participants is how these various reports will affect the probability of a Fed interest rate move in a few weeks.

U.S. equity markets declined, as did most investment-grade bonds, as a result of comments implying a sooner-than-later Fed interest rate move. Foreign developed markets fell to a lesser degree, while emerging markets bucked the trend with gains. Commodity markets rose with help from a weaker dollar and higher energy prices.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, GDP, Government, Home Sales, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

Weekly Economic Update

Posted on September 6, 2016 by LSAConnect

Economic Update 9-06-2016

In a busy week for economic data, general results weren’t as strong as expected, but neither were there any outright trouble spots. The ISM manufacturing index weakened by a few points, housing proved mixed but stable and the employment situation report disappointed a bit compared to expectations.

Equity markets generally ended up in the positive globally, as did domestic bonds, while foreign bonds were mixed due to a stronger dollar. Commodities, led by oil, were generally down on the week.

Continue reading →

Posted in Economic News | Tagged bps, China, Commodities, CPI, Crude oil, crude oil prices, DJIA, ECB, Economic, economic data, economic growth, Economic Update, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Reserve, fixed income, FOMC, GDP, Government, Home Sales, Inflation, interest rate, interest rates, Janet Yellen, Japan, Jobless Claims, LSA, MSCI Europe, oil prices, Portfolio, Q/E, Real Estate, Retail Sales, Russia, S&P 500, S&P500, unemployment rate, Update, Yahoo! | Leave a comment

LSA Connect

Weekly Economic Update

Fed Note

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Fed Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Weekly Economic Update

Subscribe Today!

LSA Facebook Page

LSA Movie

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Top Posts & Pages

Blog Stats