The Independent Market Observer

Sam Millette

Sam Millette is director, fixed income, on the Investment Management and Research team at Commonwealth. With the firm since 2013, he manages the fixed income research team, responds to advisor requests, analyzes individual bonds, and authors market research and commentary. Sam graduated from Tufts University with a degree in economics and is a member of the CFA Society Boston.

Recent Posts

Monday Update: Economic Recovery Continued in Fourth Quarter

February 1, 2021

Last week saw a number of important economic updates, with the first look at fourth-quarter GDP growth serving as a highlight. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 4 percent during the quarter, which represents a continued economic recovery to end 2020. This week will also be packed with updates, with a focus on January’s business confidence and employment reports.

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Monday Update: Housing Sector Continues to Shine

January 25, 2021

Last week was a busy time for economic updates, with a focus on the housing sector. The reports for this important sector of the economy largely pointed toward continued healthy levels of growth to end the year. This week will also be packed with updates, with the first look at fourth-quarter GDP growth and December’s personal spending and income reports serving as potential highlights.

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Monday Update (on Tuesday): Pandemic Slows Economic Recovery

January 19, 2021

Last week was packed with economic updates, with the reports showing mixed results. Disappointing initial unemployment claims and retail sales reports contrasted with a better-than-expected industrial production release. This week will be another busy one for updates, with a focus on housing data and the weekly initial jobless claims report.

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Monday Update: Business Confidence Rises Unexpectedly

January 11, 2021

Last week saw a number of important economic data releases, with December’s business confidence and employment reports garnering the most attention. Business confidence unexpectedly improved during the month, although the economy suffered from a net loss of jobs for the first time since April. This week will be packed with updates, with a focus on December’s inflation and retail sales reports, as well as the first look at consumer confidence in January.

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Monday Update: Initial Jobless Claims Fall

January 4, 2021

Last week was quiet on the economic update front, with the weekly initial jobless claims report serving as the only major data release. The number of initial unemployment claims fell by more than expected, but the Christmas holiday may have led to some volatility in the reporting. This week will be a busier one for updates, with a look at December’s business confidence and employment reports serving as potential highlights.

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Monday Update: Consumer Recovery Falters

December 28, 2020

Last week’s economic updates largely pointed to a slowing economic recovery as we headed into the end of the year. The evidence includes a drop in personal spending in November, falling consumer confidence, and continued high levels of weekly layoffs. There were some signs for optimism, however, as business investment remained resilient and housing sales stayed strong on a year-over-year basis. Due to the holidays, this week will be very quiet, with only the weekly initial jobless claims report set to be released.

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Monday Update: Economic Recovery Slows

December 21, 2020

Last week’s data releases largely showed a slowing economic recovery, as evidenced by declining retail sales figures for October and November and a disappointing rise in initial jobless claims. With that being said, the housing sector remains healthy and manufacturing continues to show signs of improvement. This will be a busy week for economic updates, with reports scheduled that touch on consumer confidence, home sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.

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Monday Update: Consumer Confidence Rises

December 14, 2020

Last week was relatively quiet in terms of economic updates, with a focus on the November inflation reports, the weekly initial jobless claims report, and the first look at consumer sentiment in December. The consumer sentiment report was the highlight during the week, as consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to start off December. This week, we’ll see more updates. The November retail sales and industrial production reports are set to be released, as are updates on home builder confidence and new home construction.

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Monday Update: Employment Recovery Slowing

December 7, 2020

Last week saw a number of economic updates, with a focus on business confidence, the November jobs report, and October’s international trade report. This week will be relatively quiet, with November’s inflation reports and a first look at consumer sentiment in December serving as highlights.

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Monday Update: Consumer Confidence Falls

November 30, 2020

Last week, a number of important economic data releases came in with mixed results. Disappointing consumer confidence reports and rising initial unemployment claims provided a contrast for better-than-expected reports on October durable goods orders and personal spending. This week will be another busy one for updates, with November’s business confidence and employment reports serving as highlights.

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Certain sections of this commentary contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

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