brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Federal Reserve (Fed) met on Wednesday to set interest rate policy, deciding that the current level of rates was sufficient and held them steady. This move was largely anticipated by investors, who expected a pause in the rate-cutting cycle by Fed officials […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) ticked down by 0.1% in December 2024 after an upwardly revised increase of 0.4% in November. Lower consumer confidence, relatively weak manufacturing orders, higher initial jobless claims, and declining building permits pushed the index lower. Despite […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in December, meeting expectations and bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.9%. Over 40% of the monthly increase was driven by energy prices, highlighting the continued impact of volatile energy markets. Food, airfares, and auto-related […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Services Index in December beat consensus expectations and rebounded from November to 54.1, highlighting the strength in the services sector that continues to drive overall growth in the economy. The services index has been in expansion for […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The ISM Manufacturing data was released for the month of December, and it showed the manufacturing sector continued its decline. The reading came in at 49.3, and any reading below 50 represents a contraction in the sector’s activity. Despite falling, the reading was […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.3% month-over-month, which aligned with economists’ expectations. This increased the annual inflation rate to 2.7%, up from 2.6% in October. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also rose by 0.3% month-over-month, maintaining a 3.3% year-over-year […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index beat consensus expectations in November and rose to 48.4, its highest reading since June. Despite a higher reading from October, the manufacturing index remains in contraction territory (a reading above 50 indicates expansion, and below […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 The Gross Domestic Product’s (GDP) second estimate was unchanged for the third quarter at a reading of 8% on an annualized basis. Consumer spending was revised slightly downward, but was offset by stronger non-residential investment, federal government spending, and inventories. Corporate profits, which […]
brought to you by Philip Blancato, Osaic's Chief Market Strategist ECONOMIC REVIEW1 Housing starts declined 1% last month to a 1.311 million annual rate, missing consensus expectations of 1.334 million for October. A 9% fall in single-family construction drove total starts lower, as multi-family starts rose in the month. Building in the South (the region […]