By Tom Burnett CFA According to the May 6, 2022, issue of the FACTSET Earnings Insight, the consensus earnings estimates for the S/P 500 Index in 2022 are being reduced. Looking back to early January, this reduction, while small, is the first one of the 2022 year. Back in January, the 2022 consensus…
U.S. Employment Increased By 428,000 in April By Tom Burnett CFA On May 6, 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment situation data for the month of April. Nonfarm employment increased by 428,000 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%. Total employment is now just 1.2 million…
By Tom Burnett CFA On May 4, 2022, the Federal Reserve issued its May meeting statement with the announcement of a hike in the funds rate target of 50 basis points. The key rate is now in a range of 0.75-1.0%. In its announcement, the Fed made it clear that inflation is too high and...
By Tom Burnett CFA As bad and frustrated as equity investors must feel so far this year, the world of fixed-income investing is far worse. (The information on the returns comes from the April 28, 2022 issue of WSJ.com). There is no ‘safe haven’ in the fixed-income world this year. The Index of…
By Tom Burnett CFA On April 19, 2022, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) lowered its estimates for global GDP growth from its projections made in January and last October. The new Report listed uncertainties from inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the primary reasons for the…