U.S. GDP Third Quarter Growth Rate Exceeds Initial Estimates

On November 27, 2019, the U. S. Commerce Department issued its second, updated estimate of GDP growth for the third quarter of 2019. Growth came in at an annual rate of 2.1%, up from the initial, Advance estimate of 1.9%. The 2.1% rate was above the second quarter rate of 2.0%, but lower than the...

On November 21, 2019, the Paris-based research group the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development issued a major warning statement. The Headline from the News Release was ‘Weak Trade and Investment Threaten Long-Term Growth. The OECD revised its global growth estimates down accordingly…

We recently completed a survey of the educational background of the Chief Executive Officers (“CEO’s”) of the companies listed in the S/P 500 Index. The Index cumulative market cap represents about 80% of the equity market’s total capitalization (Yardeni Research, Inc, Report dated November 8…

On November 1, 2019, the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its jobs report for October. Job growth came in at 128,000 well above consensus projections in the 75-80,000 range. In addition, the job growth totals for August and September were revised to higher levels. The August figure was increased…

On October 30, 2019, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee voted by an 8-2 margin to lower the Fed Funds rate by a quarter of a point to a range of 1.50-.75%. This action was the third time the Fed has decided to cut rates this year. The Fed statement suggested that the FOMC will...