Market Insights

Don’s Notebook April 27, 2018 Today's GDP report was keyed to consumer spending levels. A sharp rise in service spending helped keep first-quarter GDP in the respectable range, at an annualized 2.3 percent rate and 3 tenths above Street estimates. Service spending...

Don’s Notebook April 26, 2018 Durable goods were expected to post another month of strength including for capital goods, results that would confirm acceleration for the factory sector. Excluding transportation equipment, however, durable goods orders came in...

This morning’s pre-market Initial Jobless claim report was favorable, at 232,000 in the April 14 week. This is 5,000 higher than the mid-March reading which offers a sample-week to sample-week comparison for the monthly employment report. A rise in jobless claims may...

For today’s trade observers tell us to should watch for labor market stress in the JOLTS report and whether job openings continue to far outpace hirings. The preliminary reading for April of the University of Michigan Consumer sentiment index came in below the low...

Stocks were lower on the opening this morning. Observers attributed the weakness to the military situation in Syria. Gold, Treasuries and Yen rose on the news. Russia’s ruble extended its three-day slump in trading this morning as foreign investors cut their holdings...

Will the first impact of March's steel and aluminum tariffs appear in today's producer price report? Wall Street consensus calls for only a marginal 0.1 percent gain. Stay tuned… Small business optimism cooled more substantially than expected in March after...

Strong payroll growth without wage pressure could be a solid combination for the stock market. But payroll growth with wage pressure might not be. March payroll growth of 103,000 is below expectations but wage indications from average hourly earnings do show a little...