After a few weeks of talking about the July’s jobs report (the often forgotten half of the Fed’s dual mandate), its better half (inflation) was back in focus this week with the release of the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index for July. The releases were somewhat mixed. Consumer prices rose modestly. CPI […]

Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a monthly jobs report. This data, obtained from phone surveys and online data, is a key indicator of how the labor market in the US is performing. This economic release can (and has) garnered meaningful attention in the past and does move markets – but the reaction […]

It may not be a week you have marked on your summer calendar, but this past week was referred to as “data week” given the sheer amount of economic data releases that were published in the past four days. Let’s review the highlight reel as well as the main event – the Fed’s rate decision. […]

I don’t spend a lot of time on Twitter/X but there are a few investment professionals who publish interesting perspectives and thought leadership that I will check in on from time to time. Recently, one of my follows shared this post written by Cliff Sosin (a value manager) in honor of July 4th. During this […]

We – and more importantly the Federal Reserve – got another look at inflation this week as the June reports of consumer inflation (CPI) and wholesale inflation (PPI) were released June’s CPI report was the first to show some (albeit minor) impact from tariffs. The index rose 0.3% month over month and 2.7% year over […]

Hope you’re all enjoying the heart of summer. It’s easy (and justified) to pay a bit less attention to markets during this time of year when fun and family take center stage. If you’ve tuned things out a bit, I have good news for you. Markets have been taking care of business! Let’s take a […]

Don’t look now but as of next Tuesday, we will have reached the halfway point of 2025. It has certainly been an eventful year! If you’ve been stayed invested throughout this entire period and resisted the temptation to “abandon mission” in March/April, congratulations! Once again, your commitment and ability to resist action based on worst […]

We wrote last week about the increased importance the labor component of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate. This week, the second part of the mandate (inflation) got its turn in the spotlight yet again. First up – Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released for May and it showed favorable results. The CPI rose 2.4% […]

Markets tend to focus on one “hot topic” per week – and this week, jobs took center stage. As you know by now, the Federal Reserve Bank in the US has a dual mandate – meaning it has to balance two priorities as it considers interest rate levels and monetary policy. That dual mandate includes […]

If you’re feeling a bit better about your portfolio and investing outlook than you were in April, you are not alone. In early 2025, there was a high level concern about weakness in “soft” data (ie: consumer and investor sentiment surveys). While this data is not as conclusive as “hard” data (actual measurable statistics and […]