The Independent Market Observer

Monday Update: Inflation Steady, Confidence Pulls Back

October 15, 2018

Last week was mostly about prices, although we finished with a look at consumer confidence. This is a busy week, with a wide range of data from across the economy.

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Time to Pay Attention to What the Market Is Telling Us

October 12, 2018

We had another bad day yesterday, with markets pulling back even further. This big decline, for the second day in a row, sent fear levels even higher. Overall, the drop so far has been about 7 percent for the S&P 500. This is a big loss over two days, especially by recent standards.

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A Bad Day in the Market: Is It a False Alarm?

October 11, 2018

Yesterday was a bad day in the market. The Dow was down more than 800 points (800 points!), and the S&P was down almost 100 points (100 points!). Surely, this is the beginning of the end.

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Monthly Market Risk Update: October 2018

October 10, 2018

Market risks come in three flavors: recession risk, economic shock risk, and risks within the market itself. So, what do these risks look like for October? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

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Economic Risk Factor Update: October 2018

October 9, 2018

The good news is that confidence was strong last month. Business sentiment bounced back in a big way, to a 21-year high. Consumer confidence rose even further, to an 18-year high. But the less good news is that job growth weakened on a monthly basis and interest rates rose. For both, though, there are other factors to consider. Job growth, for example, was revised up significantly for previous months, more than offsetting the monthly shortfall and keeping the annual growth figures healthy. Plus, rising interest rates widen the spread, reducing the chance of a yield curve inversion.

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Monday Update: Business Confidence High, but Job Growth Disappoints

October 8, 2018

Last week was a busy one for economic data, with looks at business sentiment, the trade balance, and, most important, the job market. This week’s data digs into pricing and inflation, as well as gives us another look at consumer confidence.

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Is the Latest Economic News As Bad As It Sounds?

October 5, 2018

Looking at the headlines, this has been a tough week for the U.S. economy. Interest rates spiked. Job growth dropped substantially. Oil prices are rising. So, we have three key economic and market risk indicators moving in the wrong direction, and markets dropped yesterday as a result. Is it time to panic?

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A Look Back at Q3 2018

October 4, 2018

Now that the third quarter of 2018 is over, we can look back and gain some perspective on what happened. It was a good three months, for the economy and for the markets—at least here in the U.S. Abroad, the news was much more mixed, particularly for emerging markets. Let’s take a look at some of the big ideas that drove the quarter.

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Quick Takes from the Financial News: USMCA, Amazon, Powell’s Speech

October 3, 2018

There’s a lot going on in the world. As such, I thought today would be best served by taking a quick look at some of the financial news—and what the headlines mean in the bigger picture.

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Market Thoughts for October 2018 [Video]

October 2, 2018

September was a bit of a mixed month: the S&P and Dow did well, while the Nasdaq pulled back on weakness in technology. But for the quarter as a whole, all three indices were up substantially. In the U.S., hiring remained strong, wage growth picked up, and consumer confidence reached an 18-year high. There is also a huge amount of confidence in the business world.

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The information on this website is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.

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.

The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average performance of 500 widely held common stocks. All indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in an index.

The MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) Index is a free float‐adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of 21 developed market country indices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is computed by summing the prices of the stocks of 30 large companies and then dividing that total by an adjusted value, one which has been adjusted over the years to account for the effects of stock splits on the prices of the 30 companies. Dividends are reinvested to reflect the actual performance of the underlying securities.

The Russell 2000 is a market-capitalization weighted index, with dividends reinvested, that consists of the 2,000 smallest companies within the Russell 3000 Index. It is often used to track the performance of U.S. small market capitalization stocks.

One basis point (bp) is equal to 1/100th of 1 percent, or 0.01 percent.

The VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) measures the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility across a wide range of S&P 500 options.

The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio divides the current share price of the index by its estimated future earnings.

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