economic activity

Weekly Update

Rising Interest Rates May Now Portend Economic Growth

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Published July 7, 2023

 

There are a wide range of inputs portraying a change in investor attitudes over the past few weeks. Our friends at Delta Research offer one possibility of the change in how interest rates are viewed. We hope you find it interesting.

“The Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds rate from 0%-0.25% to 5.00-5.25% since March of last year. The pace and amount of rate increases came as a surprise to most market strategists. The reason for the surprise is market strategists believed the economy would slow rapidly as a result of much higher interest rates. Coming into 2023, the market expectation was for one more rate hike, a pause and then rate cuts in the second half of the year. The Fed raised rates in March and May of this year and now is expected to raise again in July and then once again later in the year. (more…)

Weekly Update

Key Economic Indicators to Watch

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Published August 12, 2022

 

The article below from Zacks provides a good overview of the key economic indicators to look for as we move into the second half of the year.

“The Federal Reserve is actively trying to curb demand in the economy by raising rates, and all the talk is about whether they can usher a ‘soft-landing’ without triggering a deep recession. So, the Fed will be a key factor to watch in the second half of the year. But I also have three other economic fundamentals investors should put on their watchlists, as they could be key in determining the path of the economy and markets over the next year. (more…)

Uncategorized, Weekly Update

China Maybe Gets Some Mojo

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Published July 10, 2020

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The Wall Street Journal’s excellent daily blasts: The Daily Shot and Real-Time Economics provide a quick overview of economic and market trends and data. We were struck by a set of charts in one of this week’s blasts from those sources. Coinciding with the news that the Chinese government had notably expanded measures aimed at supporting the Chinese stock market, these charts could be read as a broader initiative by China to sort of take global market share while the U.S. pulls back on the global stage. We are very far from geopolitical experts, of course, but we are pretty good at seeing trends (being trend-followers!). This looks like a trend in the making to us (or continuation of a bigger trend, depending on your time frame). Herewith are a series of China-related charts. May be the start of something bigger and longer-lasting.

(more…)