Introduction
In the post-BREXIT world, there is a lot of speculation but no one knows what will happen. This article is going to provide a general outlook on how the economy is doing and try to extrapolate trends while ignoring the noise provided by the media. More →
Introduction
After last week’s BREXIT vote the markets have been in a free fall with a slight recovery yesterday. But savvy investors have been expecting this and it has been a recurring theme at Investiv Daily that stocks are overvalued. In such an overvalued environment it is normal that inflated asset prices take a beating at any sign of future uncertainty. More →
Introduction
In an environment where it seems maximum potential for the U.S. economy has been reached, the St. Louis FED chief, James Bullard, has said in his most recent report that he favors only one interest rate increase through 2018, which would at best keep things stable. His view is further supported by the fact that the unemployment rate is sitting at below 5%, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures PCE inflation—measured by the Dallas FED—is at 1.84%, both of which signal that the economy has reached its maximum potential. More →
Introduction
In FED’s Chairwoman Yellen semiannual policy report, the rhetoric has significantly changed since the last report in February. In short, the full employment target is almost reached but the inflation rate is still below the targeted 2% and the expectations for the reaching of that target have been changed from short term to medium term. Further, the latest job reports show a slowdown in jobs increases which creates a bit of a scare. The FED estimates the slowdown to be transitory. More →
Introduction
On June 9 the FED released its quarterly Financial Accounts of the United States. The report shows the total of accounts for various things, from net household worth, debt per segment, consumer spending to the general flow of funds. Unlike the usual newspaper that focuses on easy to reproduce single pieces of information, this 196-page report gives a clear picture of what is going on in the US economy, the developing trends and therefore has to be well understood by anyone who has an interest in the US economy. More →
Introduction
Amid all the fuss around interest rates, Yellen, jobs, Clinton and Trump there is one piece of information that is very significant for investors but is often disregarded. More →
Introduction
Last week was an interesting one as it was filled with various economic news. It is important to summarize that news to see if it will move the needle as the market has moved only sideways since December 2014. More →
Introduction
On May 18 the FED released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held in April. The FOMC decided not to increase interest rates in April which gave a short relief to the markets, but an analysis of the FOMC meeting minutes reveals interesting things because it gives indications on the way of thinking FOMC participants have and hints on potential future interest rate increases. While the goal of the FED is to maintain financial stability and increase the resilience of the financial system to shocks, for an investor it is important to look at the economic trends related to the FOMC’s decisions in order to better assess the risks of their portfolio. More →
Introduction
The scariest word for any investor is the word recession. A recession arises when there is negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters. No economic growth makes it difficult for businesses to grow as people tend to spend less and save until better times come around. This creates a spiral as less spending forces companies to lay off employees and further cuts investments. If prolonged economic hardships persist, governments intervene with quantitative easing or with other projects to get the economy going again. A recession has an immediate negative impact on financial markets as investors become more risk averse and seek security above all. More →
Introduction
On May 6, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released its monthly employment situation summary.
The report is released on the first Friday of the month for the previous month. It consists of two parts: one presents non-farm payrolls, hours worked and hourly earnings, and the other is created by surveying more than 60,000 households in order to extract the unemployment rate. More →
