Retailers did well over the last few years as consumers were flush with savings. Reduced spending during the early parts of the pandemic, coupled with stimulus and other benefits from the government, led to abundant consumer savings and a spending surge. In Department Stores Are Maxed Out, the Wall Street Journal says the tide may […]
The MACD, or moving average convergence divergence, is a well-followed technical indicator that helps spot changes in the momentum and strength of a trend. The MACD is the difference between a longer and shorter-term moving average, while its signal is a shorter-term moving average. Like any technical indicator, it is not perfect, but the MACD […]
The much-anticipated speech by Chair Powell at the annual Fed Jackson Hole Symposium shed little new light on the course of monetary policy. Chair Powell opened the address by stressing their number one goal: “It is the Fed’s job to bring inflation down to our 2 percent goal, and we will do so.” His statement […]
Jerome Powell presents the Fed’s keynote speech for its annual Jackson Hole symposium this morning. It is widely expected he will continue to discuss familiar themes such as sticky inflation and the need to keep rates higher for longer. He will likely favor another rate hike or two if needed to slow economic activity and […]
Stock valuations provide a gauge of the actual price of a stock. Unlike most goods and services, the dollar price of a stock doesn’t tell us how rich or cheap it is. What matters are stock valuations or the multiple investors are willing to pay for earnings, sales, cashflows, or a host of other income-related […]
As we have discussed for the better part of the year, the national and Fed manufacturing surveys signal economic contraction, while the service sectors (non-manufacturing) remain strong. Thus far, the service sectors have offset the weakness in manufacturing. Given the service sector is much larger than manufacturing, we have keyed on the sector for indications […]
Goldman Sach’s announced that it is selling its Personal Financial Management Unit. The group manages about $29 billion of assets for high-net-worth clients. Per the Wall Street Journal- “We are currently evaluating alternatives for that business,” Goldman said. “We expect to find an outcome that benefits both our clients and our advisors.” $29 billion is […]
Since the start of the year, the magnificent seven have led the stock market’s charge higher. Consider the following year-to-date gains for the magnificent seven: MSFT +31%, AAPL +32%, NVDA +192%, GOOG +46%, META +134%, AMZN +57%, and TSLA +74%. The “worst” return of the magnificent seven stocks, MSFT +31%, is more than double the […]
U.S. Treasury yields have been rising recently on varied concerns. One such worry is that China will sell some of its $835 billion stash of U.S. Treasury securities to help bolster its weakening currency, the yuan (CNH). As we share below, China’s yuan and ten-year Treasury note yields have correlated well since 2021. Like U.S. […]