Stocks opened generally higher last Monday, with only the Nasdaq (-0.5%) losing ground. The Dow closed up 0.7%, followed by the Global Dow (0.6%), the Russell 2000 (0.5%), and the S&P 500 (0.3%). Losses in consumer discretionary, communication services, real estate, and information technology were offset by gains in energy, materials, health care, industrials, consumer […]
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Rising Inflation: Where Will It Go from Here?
In March 2021, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.6%, the largest one-month increase since August 2012. Over the previous 12 months, the increase was 2.6%, the highest year-over-year inflation rate since August 2018. (By contrast, inflation in 2020 was just 1.4%.)1 The annual increase in CPI-U — often called headline […]
Read MoreWeekly Update as of market close April 30, 2021
Last Monday saw small caps and tech shares drive the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq higher. Investors may have drawn encouragement from strong, first-quarter corporate earnings reports, solid economic data, and the expectation that the Federal Reserve will maintain its accommodative stance. Following the Russell 2000 (1.2%) and the Nasdaq (0.9%), were the Global Dow […]
Read MoreEnhanced Child Tax Credit for 2021
If you have qualifying children under the age of 18, you may be able to claim a child tax credit. (You may also be able to claim a partial credit for certain other dependents who are not qualifying children.) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 makes substantial, temporary improvements to the child tax credit […]
Read MoreWeekly Update as of market close April 23, 2021
Stocks retreated from record highs last Monday. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% — its largest single-day drop in nearly four weeks. Small caps and tech shares dove lower, pulling down the Russell 2000 (-1.4%) and the Nasdaq (-1.0%). The Dow slipped 0.4% and the Global Dow was unchanged. Crude oil prices rose and Treasuries advanced, […]
Read MoreWeekly Update as of market close April 16, 2021
Stocks ended the first day of trading last week in the red, falling from their record highs of the prior week, as investors await the start of corporate earnings season. Among the indexes, both the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq (-0.4%) led the decline, followed by the Dow (-0.2%), the Global Dow (-0.1%), and the […]
Read MoreWeekly Update as of market close April 9, 2021
Strong economic data and a growing number of vaccinated Americans helped fuel significant market gains last Monday. The prior week’s favorable jobs report, coupled with purchasing managers’ encouraging news in both the manufacturing and services sectors, provided encouragement for investors. The Nasdaq rose 1.7%, followed by the S&P 500 (1.4%), the Dow (1.1%), the Global […]
Read MoreHigh-Frequency Indicators: Where to Look for Signs of Recovery
Since the pandemic began, disruptions in business activity have varied greatly from region to region, and often from one week to the next, according to the severity of local COVID-19 outbreaks. Unfortunately, many of the official government statistics used to gauge the health of the U.S. economy are backward looking and somewhat delayed. Changes in […]
Read MoreWeekly Update as of market close April 1, 2021
Stocks opened last week generally down, with only the Dow posting a marginal 0.3% gain. The Russell 2000 plunged 2.8%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.6%, while the Global Dow and the S&P 500 each slipped 0.1%. The sectors were mixed, with utilities, consumer staples, communication services, and health care pushing ahead, while energy, financials, information technology, […]
Read MoreU.S. Credit-Card Debt Levels See Record Drop in 2020
Despite the financial challenges experienced by Americans as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. credit-card debt dropped to record levels in 2020, decreasing by almost $83 billion.1 This unprecedented drop was likely the result of individuals receiving financial assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and having access to more cash. […]
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