Daily Comment
Daily Comment (February 27, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Over the weekend, parts of President Trump’s budget plan were released to the public. According to the New York Times, the president plans to increase defense spending and scale back non-defense spending, most notably the EPA and the State Department. The increase in defense… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 24, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] During a panel discussion at the CPAC convention, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus sought to quell rumors of a possible rift between the two. The discussion was mild-tempered, with both stating that they respect each… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 23, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Equity markets have remained relatively calm after the Fed minutes reaffirmed the outlook of most investors. In the minutes, the Federal Reserve voted unanimously to maintain current rates due to the PCE remaining below its 2% target as well as “heightened uncertainty” about changes… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 22, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Donald Trump has released a pair of memos that lay out a plan to cut down on illegal immigration into the United States. The memo expanded the definition of criminal aliens from those who have committed serious crimes to those who have been convicted… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 21, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Even with a three-day holiday weekend to work with, there isn’t a ton of news this morning. The president did appoint a new National Security Director and the pick is being well received. European and Asian PMI data (see below) generally came in above… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 17, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Equity markets are lower this morning. We suspect two issues are weighing on sentiment. First, the two left-wing candidates in France, Socialist Benoit Hamon and hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon, are holding talks that may lead one of these candidates to drop out of the race. … Read More »
Daily Comment (February 16, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] We are seeing a bit of weakness this morning in equities but this looks mostly like a normal market pause. The dollar is lower despite growing talk that the Fed is moving to raise rates. Not only did Chair Yellen signal that hikes are… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 15, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] We continue to watch the drama in Washington. What we find most interesting is that equity markets continue to churn higher despite the turmoil. We believe there are two reasons for the continued strength. First, earnings are continuing to edge higher and thus prices… Read More »
Daily Comment (February 14, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady, Kaisa Stucke, and Thomas Wash [Posted: 9:30 AM EST] Happy Valentine’s Day! For a mostly quiet market day there is a lot of news to digest. Let’s get started! Flynn out: Yesterday, when Kellyanne Conway suggested that National Security Director Flynn had the full support of the president, we suspected he was doomed. … Read More »