18 Feb 2011

Posted at 15:09h in The Friday Brief by
It was a mixed week for economic data, but a pretty good one for markets. The S&P looks to finish up close to 1% and the 7-10 year Treasury index is up .25% for the week so far.  Manufacturing news and corporate earnings continue strong, but the consumer may be taking a break. And still bouncing along the bottom, jobs and housing showed few signs of recovery. 

04 Feb 2011

Posted at 15:33h in The Friday Brief by
The flurry of economic data released this week was on balance surprisingly strong, with the notable and regrettable exceptions of jobs and housing. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke summed up the economic outlook yesterday. “Until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established.” Yet almost every other metric is strong and getting stronger. Quarterly corporate profits are sharply ahead of a year ago, manufacturing is growing stronger, productivity continues to rise, and consumer spending as evidenced by retail sales is gaining strength.

07 Jan 2011

Posted at 15:42h in The Friday Brief by
The economy is coming back according to stocks, bonds, gold, economic reports, and Mr. Bernanke. The S&P 500 gained 13% in 2010 and 1.4% so far this year. Companies are poised to report strong earnings for the fourth quarter with profits for S&P 500 companies expected to be up about 20%. Unfortunately, unemployment is not yet following suit, despite the unexpected drop in the headline number.

10 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:08h in The Friday Brief by
The biggest news this week was that of the deal reached between President Obama and Congressional Republicans on extending the Bush tax cuts. On the news, the S&P surged two thirds of a percent then settled back as investors considered both the potential for higher deficits, at least in the short run, and the difficulty of getting it through Congress as liberal Democrats railed against the measure throughout the day. Obama defended his deal saying he was able to preserve tax breaks for the middle-class and extend unemployment benefits that were set to expire.