The Wall Street cheerleaders who have been urging the Fed to cut interest rates because of the increasing financial stress apparently did not get the memo from consumers based on the current spending data, which accelerated in March following a 'slowdown' in February. March consumer spending was up 5.9%
The problem with a Federal Reserve who says they are both 'data-driven' but calls the data 'noisy' is it is difficult to determine whether or not the most recent data will change their mind. Their track record in predicting things like an implosion of a tech stock bubble, a
Following the release of the Fed's 'preferred' inflation measure Personal Consumption Index (PCE) Price Deflator last week, both the bulls and the bears had something to point to to make their case. The bulls highlighted the continued decrease in the year-over-year inflation levels (now 2.4% versus
Despite a one-day scare last week, the stock market closed the week near its record high. The 'scare' came in the form of an increase in the rate of inflation. This threw cold water on the thought the Fed would slash interest rates up to 6 times for a
One of the most difficult things to understand about the investment markets is the response to various events is not always logical. If I had told you a few months ago that Israel was going to be attacked by Hamas sparking a declaration of war which included the US military
