For the time being, major media outlets are admitting a recession is no longer in site and that the U.S. economy remains strong. On Friday, the jobs data blew past expectations. The United States created 266,000 jobs in November versus 180,000 expected. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% with average pay rising 3.8%. … [Read more...]
2018 Midterm Jitters
In the past few weeks we’ve seem the market become increasingly volatile. At the same time, we had the worst month since 2011. Tech and industrials led the decline. There have been varying reasons for this volatility and turmoil. I’ve heard rising interest rates, weak corporate guidance, and trade to name a few. In my opinion we are … [Read more...]
US, China Make Trade Progress
Shortly after the market topped off in January, we had a nonstop barrage of negative news. Interest rates were rising, there was political turmoil, and a brewing trade war with China. Today, interest rates are still rising, and our political system is a mess. However, it appears as if the Trump administration came to an agreement with China and … [Read more...]
Consumer Staples Crash
It’s been a rough year for consumer staples. Many of these stocks were absolutely devastated despite solid earnings reports. The consumer staples sector includes products like food, beverages, tobacco, and household items. Some of these companies recently experienced their worst 1-day drops since 2008. Unfortunately, in the short term, I don’t … [Read more...]
Correction!
The stock market entered correction territory last week. The Dow dropped over 1,000 points on two separate days. Even on Friday it was a bumpy ride. At lunch time we were down 500 and by 4pm we were up over 300. According to analysts, the correction had to do with rising interest rates and a market that might have been “too hot”. After periods … [Read more...]
2017 Looks Great – So Far
It’s the New Year and many of us are re-examining our goals. What do we want to accomplish in 2017 and how will we get there? More specifically, how will we meet our financial goals and what hurdles are we facing this year? It’s 2017 now and it feels like we are facing an entirely new economy. Fortunately, economic indicators are showing a low … [Read more...]