Weekly Economic Update for December 18, 2017
|
Main Street Financial Presents:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WEEKLY QUOTE
“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.”
- Lady Bird Johnson
WEEKLY TIP
New baby on the way? Make sure to add your child to your health insurance plan within 30 days of his or her birth.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
Had by some and treasured by all, it is found inside and outside and makes many fall. Can you name what it is?
Last week’s riddle: What flies without any wings?
Last week’s answer: Time.
|
December 18, 2017
FED MAKES ITS FINAL RATE MOVE OF 2017 As expected, the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25% last week. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 7-2 to take the target range for the federal funds rate up to 1.25-1.5%. Fed officials made little change to their dot-plot chart – they still see three rate hikes in 2018, and their consensus projection has the federal funds rate at 2.1% a year from now. They did elevate their 2018 GDP forecast from 2.1% to 2.5%.1
CORE INFLATION LAGS HEADLINE CPI ADVANCE According to the Department of Labor, consumer prices rose 0.4% in November – but the core Consumer Price Index, which removes food and energy costs, only saw a gain of 0.1%. This left the 12-month increase in the core CPI at 1.7% compared with 2.2% for the headline number, a gap that may complicate matters for the Federal Reserve as it considers the pace of 2018 interest rate adjustments.2
BUYING, BUYING, and MORE BUYING Retail sales climbed an impressive 0.8% in November following a strong 0.5% rise for October. Factoring out auto purchases, the November gain was 1.0%. Recent Department of Commerce data shows core retail sales (which do not include building materials, gasoline, and food) advancing at their best pace in three years.3
WALL STREET RALLIES With the possibility of reduced corporate tax rates just ahead, institutional investors were notably bullish last week. Across five trading sessions, the S&P 500 gained 0.92% to 2,675.81; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1.33% to 24,651.74; Nasdaq Composite, 1.41% to 6,936.58. All that confidence helped send the CBOE VIX down to a Friday close of 9.42.4
THIS WEEK: No major economic indicators or earnings announcements are scheduled for release on Monday. Data on November housing starts and building permits emerges Tuesday, plus earnings news from Darden Restaurants, FedEx, Micron Technology, Navistar, Red Hat, and Steelcase. On Wednesday, the Street considers November existing home sales and earnings from Bed Bath & Beyond, Blackberry, General Mills, and Winnebago. The last estimate of Q3 GDP comes out Thursday, along with a new initial claims report and earnings from Accenture, CarMax, ConAgra Brands, Finish Line, Hovnanian, Nike, Paychex, and Rite Aid. Reports on November personal spending and hard goods orders, the November PCE price index, the final December University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, and November new home sales appear Friday.
Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Please feel free to forward this article to family, friends or colleagues.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. The information herein has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All market indices discussed are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. Indices do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. MarketingPro, Inc. is not affiliated with any person or firm that may be providing this information to you. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.
Citations. 1 - bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/fed-raises-rates-while-sticking-to-three-hike-outlook-for-2018 [12/13/17] 2 - reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-inflation/u-s-core-inflation-slows-puts-spotlight-on-2018-interest-rate-outlook-idUSKBN1E71QM [12/13/17] 3 - bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-14/u-s-retail-sales-increased-0-8-in-november [12/14/17] 4 - markets.wsj.com/us [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F15%2F16&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F15%2F16&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F15%2F16&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F14%2F12&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F14%2F12&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F14%2F12&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F14%2F07&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F14%2F07&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F14%2F07&x=0&y=0 [12/15/17] 6 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [12/15/17] 7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [12/15/17]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
