1 min readLargest Relief Package in U.S. History Signed On Friday, President Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus plan following a 96-0 vote in the Senate and strong support in the House. The bill extends aid through direct payments and expanded unemployment insurance to many struggling Americans, provides loans and grants to businesses, supports draining state funds…
2 min readCoronavirus While domestic economic growth began the year on solid footing, the worldwide spread of the coronavirus along with its effects on global supply chains and potential effects on aggregate demand are likely to dominate financial market movements through springtime. U.S. equity markets sank 15% last week in the fastest ever return to correction territory…
2 min readMonetary Policy Report In its semi-annual report to Congress submitted earlier this week, the FOMC stated that “The U.S. economy continued to grow moderately last year and the labor market strengthened further. With these gains, the current expansion entered its 11th year, becoming the longest on record.” The report noted that inflation remains below the…
2 min readStrong Year for the Markets After trending down on Tuesday morning, markets reversed course and closed the year on a high note. While they were off their December all-time highs, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their best yearly performances since 2013, rising 28.9% and 35.2%, respectively, while the DJIA had its best year since…
2 min readThe fallout from the ongoing U.S. and China trade war continues to impact both countries and may be contributing to global weakness. Chinese economic growth fell to 6.2% in the second quarter, the lowest level since record-keeping began in March of 1992, as the value of the country’s exports to the U.S. dropped by 8.2%…
2 min readOverview The FOMC concluded its two-day meeting on Wednesday, May 1st and, as expected, kept the fed funds target range unchanged at 2.25-2.50%. Echoing its comments in March, the Fed expressed comfort with their current “wait and see” approach to monetary policy. The equity markets declined slightly as Fed Chair Powell attributed the weakness in…