By Tom Burnett CFA On April 1, 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the employment situation for March 2022. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 431,000 and the unemployment rate fell from 3.8% to 3.6%. The number of unemployed persons fell by 318,000 to 6.0 million. In February 2020,…
By Tom Burnett CFA CNBC Market Pro presents a quarterly survey of leading Wall Street market strategist forecasts for year-end S/P 500 Index target prices. The latest survey (March 24, 2022) offers 15 separate target prices. We monitor these Surveys and will present our summaries as they are updated…
By Tom Burnett CFA In response to inflation (40- year high in the U.S.) and an aggressive Federal Reserve policy change, interest rates have begun to move higher. On March 16, 2022, the Fed announced its first increase in the Fed Funds rate since 2018. The 25 basis point increase is clearly the first…
By Tom Burnett CFA On March 16, 2022, the Federal Reserve (“Fed”) announced that it has decided to raise the target Fed Funds rate by 0.25% to a range of 0.25% to 0.50%. The increase is the first hike since 2018. The Fed vote was not unanimous, however, since Governor Bullard voted for an increase…
By Tom Burnett CFA On March 15, 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Producer Price Index data for February. The Index for Final Demand rose by 0.8% in February, down from a rise of 1.2% in January. The year-over-year increase was 10.0%, identical to the 12-month increase in January. In…