From Investment Intelligencer Northern Trust’s Paul Kasriel weighs in on the shrinking supply of U.S. equities (which, at least last year, translated into higher prices) and the outlook for U.S. consumer spending (bad). According…
By William Trent, CFA of Stock Market Beat According to Yahoo! News: The U.S. economy added a modest 97,000 jobs in February, the smallest gain in two years, but job growth in prior months…
The head of the Philly Fed Bank, Charles Prosser, spoke out yesterday in favor of having the FOMC establish public, explicit targets for inflation to be used in guiding monetary policy. This re-opens a…
In China they have a lot of "virtual" money. Consumers play online games and win the ethereal dough. But, it can be used to buy real stuff in the real world. So, the Chinese…
Boone Pickens told a Forbes conference that the easy-to-drill oil has been found and that production is, therefore, peaking. Based on his analysis, oil is going back to $70 a barrel this year. US…
The Reuters/UM’s composite Index of Consumer Sentiment came in at a finalized 91.3 for February, down from a 96.9 reading in January that was essentially a spike from solid stock market gains in the…
The Institute for Supply Management just released its monthly manufacturing Report on Business survey (the old PMI), and the results came in with a slightly-positive reading of 52.3, up from 49.3 in January. The…
By William Trent, CFA of Stock Market Beat BEA: News Release: Gross Domestic Product Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United…
The NAPM’s regional Chicago report is the first glance investors get of macro-level data for the month of February. The index showed a level of 47.9 versus 48.8 in January, both figures in what…
By Chad Brand of The Peridot Capitalist From the AP: Personal Savings Rate for 2006 Drops to Negative 1 Percent, the Lowest Level in 74 Years "The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the savings…
From Ticker Sense As of 2:55 PM, the 70 basis point gain in the S&P 500 ranks as the third most positive market performance on a Fed day since the tightening cycle began in…
As expected, NO CHANGE in rates. Core inflation readings have moderated but risks remain to the upside. This doesn’t really sound HAWKISH today, and the market was worried the fed would be hawkish in…
By William Trent, CFA of Stock Market Beat According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis: Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the…
By William Trent, CFA of Stock Market Beat Several times we have commented on the transportation names, both for their own investment merits and as an indicator of overall economic activity. Since anything sold…
By William Trent, CFA of Stock Market Beat After years in the doldrums, rail carriers have had a strong couple of years. Union Pacific (UNP), for example, is up about 20% so far in…