10 Feb 2006

Posted at 14:57h in The Friday Brief by
More than half of companies have reported their calendar fourth quarter earnings to date and they are up an average of 14%, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Total Market Index.  These strong earnings suggest a continued strong economy.  So far, neither the Fed’s rate hikes nor the slowing housing market have managed to sap much of the economy’s vitality.  Employment indicators have been strong and consumer spending was robust during the last two months of 2005.  Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of this year could easily exceed 4%, according to experts.

30 Jan 2004

Posted at 16:13h in The Friday Brief by
If you watched any financial news or commentary at all this week you could not have missed the attention given to whether or not the Fed would continue to use the phrasing “considerable period” in their prepared comments.  The words have appeared in their remarks for several months conveying to the financial world that they were prepared to keep interest rates low for an indefinite period to sustain a less-than-robust economic recovery.  The phrase was dropped on Wednesday and replaced with the words can “be patient” before raising rates. 

25 Apr 2003

Posted at 15:38h in The Friday Brief by
The mood on Wall Street is improving, albeit slightly.  General market improvement comes ahead of the economic reports provided by the government that substantially reflect the view that the lead-up to the war with Iraq had a significant dampening effect on the economy.  Investors seem more optimistic as they learn that many companies are reporting better-than-expected earnings.