May Jobs Report—An Unexpected Increase

By Tom Burnett CFA On June 5, 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the employment conditions for May. In a surprising development, employment actually rose by 2.5 million from the prior month. The unemployment rate declined from 14.7% in April to 13.3% in May. The March and April figures were…

By Tom Burnett CFA It appears that interest rates have begun to stabilize at higher levels than were recorded in March and April. We attempt to monitor rates by looking at the market yields on the ten-year and 30-year Treasury notes and bonds. The Federal Reserve has made it clear that its formal policy…

By Tom Burnett CFA Most investors are familiar the larger companies (Gilead, Amgen, Biogen) that are active in the biotech industry, but it can be a difficult task to find smaller companies that are on the verge of successful product innovations. One useful tool for finding new biomedical products and…

By Tom Burnett CFA As part of our ongoing review of market activity, we examine the relative performance of various styles (Growth/Value, Large Cap/Small Cap, Domestic/Foreign) to compare their relative investment records. In this report, we focus on Growth and Value styles. Using data supplied by Morningstar…

By Tom Burnett CFA We continue to follow earnings estimates for the S/P 500 Index companies as provided by the FACTSET weekly surveys. In the May 8, 2020, edition, the estimates continue to move lower. The analyst consensus earnings figure for 2020 is now $130.91, down 19.6% from the 2019 earnings of…