06 May 2005

Posted at 16:28h in The Friday Brief by
This week the markets have fared far better than last.  The S&P 500 is up almost 1% as of this morning and the NASDAQ is up over 2%.  Bonds have had a good week as well with the Lehman 1-3 Year and 7-10 Year Treasury Indexes rising .2% and .4% respectively. 

29 Apr 2005

Posted at 16:39h in The Friday Brief by
According to today’s government reports, the consumer has not wilted in the face of higher gasoline prices.  Personal spending was up more than expected in March while personal savings fell to .4%, the lowest since October 2001.  Mitigating the falling savings rate somewhat though is a healthy rise in disposable incomes.  When adjusted for inflation, incomes were up 3.3% last month from March 2004.

22 Apr 2005

Posted at 16:44h in The Friday Brief by
Will higher oil prices finally cause inflation in the U.S. economy?  Will the Federal Reserve be forced to raise their benchmark rates faster and risk stalling the economy?  These are the questions on the minds of investors and traders of stocks and bonds alike.  Recent indicators released by the government this week had opposite and dramatic effects on the markets.  The Producer Price Index released Tuesday showed that prices held steady for the month of March at the manufacturer’s level.  The S&P 500 index was up .6% and the bond markets rallied substantially as well. 

15 Apr 2005

Posted at 16:48h in The Friday Brief by
The last two days of trading have been the worst since August 5th and 6th of last year. They have taken the blue-chip index to its lowest level in five months.  What changed so drastically in the last few days?  The economy was growing, but not so fast as to worry the inflation-guardians at the Federal Reserve; interest rates were holding steady, even falling a bit; and corporate profit margins were still fat enough to absorb some unforeseen shocks, like oil remaining above $50.00 a barrel for an extended period.