Federal Reserve Cuts Key Interest Rate

As expected, on July 31, 2019, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee cut its key fed funds rate by one-quarter of a point. The new range is now 2/2.25%. This decision was the first decrease in more than ten years. Treasury rates adjusted downwards as the 30-year bond yield fell to 2.52% and the ten-year…

While the post-Recession economic expansion continues on pace for a post-WW II record, growth is slowing down.   The early estimate for GDP growth for the June Quarter was 2.1%, down from a 3.1% annual rate in the first quarter.  For the first half of 2019, GDP growth averaged an  annual rate of…

On July 23, the IMF issued its formal Global Growth Update with a lukewarm forecast.   Global growth is now estimated at 3.2% for 2019 and 3.5% for 2020.   Both of these two estimates are 0.1% lower than the estimates last published in the April Update.  By comparison, global growth in 2018 was…

When you’re managing your portfolio, it is critical to understand how important diversification is. All of us hope that our current investments will increase however there will be times when some of them will lose money. This is why you need other types of investments – you need to diversify.

Investors know that the world has shrunk and that a large part of US company corporate profits are generated from overseas sales and operations. It is important, therefore, to monitor economic growth forecasts from unbiased authorities and institutions. Fortunately, there are three eminent, world class…