@theMarket: Sticky Inflation Propels Yields Higher, Stocks LowerBy Bill Schmick,
03:11PM / Friday, April 12, 2024 | |
"One's a dot, two's a line, three's a trend," is how the saying goes. When applied to the inflation data this week, it spelled bad news for the financial markets.
Over the last two months, inflation showed increases in both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well as the Producer Price Index (PPI). This week, the March CPI data came in warmer than investors had hoped (0.4 percent versus expectations of 0.3 percent). The PPI was slightly below forecasts, but the monthly core index matched expectations. Not good.
Economists might say the jury is still out on calling a backup in the inflation rate, but traders shoot first and ask questions 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Immigration Battle Facts and FictionBy Bill Schmick,
04:30PM / Thursday, April 11, 2024 | |
Recently, several studies, combined with macroeconomic data in both the private and public sectors, have revealed that immigration has benefited the economy in recent years. In a politically charged election year, the facts are often ignored as hyperbole takes over.
In my last column, I reminded readers that demonizing migrants is nothing new in American history. In a country that is constantly looking for someone to blame for their troubles, immigrants stand the test of time. One prominent candidate has even claimed that migrants are "not people in my opinion."
In a recent Wall Street Journal national poll in late February, 20 percent of 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Stocks Consolidating Near Highs Into End of First Quarter By Bill Schmick,
02:29PM / Friday, March 29, 2024 | |
An important government inflation metric, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), for February came in as expected on Good Friday. Since the markets were closed, as investors celebrate the three-day Easter holiday weekend, Monday, April 1, should be interesting.
Core PCE rose by 0.3 percent from the previous month. Year-over-year PCE prices rose by 2.8 percent, easing slightly from the 2.9 percent increase in January. The PCE is the Federal Reserve Bank's favorite inflation indicator. As such, it carries a lot more weight when determining whether the central bank will stand pat or decide to cut interest rates in the months ahead. The February numbers 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Immigrants Getting Bad Rap on the Economic FrontBy Bill Schmick,
04:26PM / Thursday, March 28, 2024 | |
Immigration has become a dirty word among Americans. Illegal aliens take the brunt of the nation's animosity, for sure, and are vilified for a long list of crimes that few question. I am one of the few who see a positive side to migrants.
Politicians on both sides of the aisles are competing to keep as many immigrants as possible from entering the country. Campaign speeches by many radicals warn that the situation has reached cataclysmic proportions. The media stokes these fires with shots of dark-skinned refugees fording rivers, shivering in lines surrounded by barbed wire, and headlining any crimes that involve an immigrant. This is nothing new.
The 0 Comments
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@theMarket: Sticky Inflation Slows Market AdvanceBy Bill Schmick,
05:21PM / Friday, March 15, 2024 | |
February inflation data showed no progress on inflation. That follows the same kind of readings from the previous month. While two months does not make a trend, the disappointing numbers gave investors pause.
Both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and its cousin, The Producer Price Index (PPI), came in warmer than economists had expected. Consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in February from a year earlier but were only slightly higher than economists' expectations of 3.1 percent. The PPI rose 1.6 percent year-over-year, which was the largest gain since last September. Month-over-month, the PPI at +0.6 percent was double the average forecast.
These data points 0 Comments
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