Peek of the Week - Weekly Market Commentary for November 20, 2023. Today's Peek of the Week asks, "is it done yet?" and we aren't talking about the Thanksgiving turkey! Investors enthusiastically embraced the idea that the Fed could be done raising rates and might even begin to lower them. Inflation eased and the Consumer Price Index showed U.S. inflation running flat from September to October. Core inflation (which excludes volatile food and energy prices) is up, and we also saw gasoline and fuel oil prices dropping. While a slower pace of overall price increases is great news, inflation remains well above the Fed’s two percent target. Our PEEK also shares employment and hiring details, while noting that stocks moved higher last week.
Read MorePeek of the Week - Weekly Market Commentary for October 16, 2023. Investors are currently considering geopolitics, the war in Israel, inflation, consumer sentiment, government shutdowns and volatility. In the last week, we've seen a war get declared with high death tolls and now the risk of it increasing in Israel's surrounding region has appeared. Americans are experiencing persistent inflation which has consumers feeling less optimistic. The good news is that banks did well in the third quarter.
Read MorePeek of the Week - Weekly Market Commentary for October 9, 2023. Financial markets lost ground during the third quarter, but U.S. stocks rallied last week due to corporate earnings and falling inflation. New details on inflation numbers, the labor market, and U.S. employment data. Unemployment rates are nearing historically low levels and labor force participation increased.
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