10 May 2013

Posted at 11:10h in The Friday Brief by
Next week's economic reports may test investors' resolve as closely-watched reports on retail sales, housing, jobs, manufacturing, and inflation are released. The most important is retail sales, which drives 70% of our economy. It is likely to show a second month of contraction, according to economists tracked by Bloomberg.

28 Oct 2011

Posted at 12:10h in The Friday Brief by
Global equity markets popped yesterday, intensifying their October rally to 15% for the MSCI US Broad Market Index and 21% for the FTSE All World Index (ex-US). The enthusiasm was sparked by two events that equity investors broadly took as good news. European Union leaders agreed on a deal to theoretically end the two-year financial crisis with Greece at its center. And in the US, Gross Domestic Product grew in the third quarter 2.5%, more than was expected and following a 1.3% rate in the second quarter. But while conditions may be improving ever so slightly, the disease remains without serious work for cure.

12 Mar 2010

Posted at 16:47h in The Friday Brief by
The American consumer is coming back. Sales at US retailers grew a surprising .3% in February according to a Commerce Department report released this morning, but the two previous months were revised downward. Excluding autos, February sales rose .8%, also surpassing expectations. Economists expected sales to fall .2% due to bad weather across the country.

03 Dec 2004

Posted at 16:26h in The Friday Brief by
The S&P 500 is up 1% so far this week and almost 8% in November.  Perhaps the single most important factor has been the 21% decline in oil prices over the past month.  Both shrinking demand and increasing supplies have contributed to the remarkable drop in prices.  But, still high at $43.00 a barrel, energy costs continue to blunt optimism on the strength of the recovery, causing particular concern in the area of consumer spending.  But recent historical evidence has been very positive.