Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls dished out a huge surprise, rolling out a gigantic miss to the downside as the US economy added only 235,000 jobs. Despite a sizeable upward revision of 133,000 to the previous month, nothing was going to offset the shock of the miss in the headline data. Household employment performed strongly, helping to […]
Can ongoing record breaking rallies for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite as well as near record highs for the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 continue as September begins? Historically, since 1945, that’s the month that’s consistently been the worst period of the year for equities. Without a doubt, it’s also the question traders are […]
The dollar edged higher in early European trading Monday, but remained near a one-week low as rising Covid-19 cases and slumping U.S. consumer confidence could pressure the Federal Reserve to delay tapering its bond-buying program. At 2:55 AM ET (0755 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, […]
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting is the most important event in the week ahead. It is not that it will take fresh policy action. Rather, its observations about the economy and its forward guidance are the focus. Since the Fed last met in April, job growth has slowed, and prices have accelerated. While […]
The taperless tantrum could continue across financial markets now that it seems clear Fed Chair Jerome Powell won’t react until he sees disorderly market conditions or if financial conditions tighten further. Positive economic, such as this past employment report, might continue to fuel optimism about the economic outlook and that could raise expectations that the […]
We are now heading into what would typically be a quiet time of year when everyone spends time with their loved ones and market activity is more muted. This isn’t a normal year, though, and while volumes may be low, activity will be anything but. There are key deadlines on both sides of the pond […]
Time is running out for passage of additional US fiscal stimulus in 2020 as the year winds down and the holidays rapidly approach. Congressional parties hit a brick wall yet again, even with the scaled-down $900 billion plan, this time on conflict over employer virus liability. Each time the negotiations appear to be about to […]
December may normally be associated with everything slowing down as we ease our way into the festive period, but as with everything else in 2020, this is no normal December. Donald Trump is continuing to fight the election result and is going out swinging, Brexit talks are somehow still ongoing, the EU budget and rescue […]
