Last week’s major data releases all came in above expectations, helping to calm concerns that rising COVID-19 case counts are interrupting the economic recovery. Highlights included better-than-anticipated results for business confidence and hiring in July. This week will be another busy one, with updates focusing on inflation, retail sales, and the first look at consumer sentiment in August.

Brad here. In today’s post, Sarah Hargreaves, an investment management analyst on our Investment Management and Research team, discusses whether the coronavirus pandemic has pushed sustainable investing to a tipping point. Over to you, Sarah.

Brad here. Today, Rob Swanke, an analyst with Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team, takes a look at the benefits and the risks of preferred stock as a source of yield in a portfolio. Over to you, Rob.

Brad here. Today's post on why the stable value fund is becoming a more common investment option in retirement plan menus comes from Michael Geraci of Commonwealth's Retirement Consulting Services team. Take it away, Michael. 

In today’s uncertain economic environment, interest rates have declined, and the Fed has expressed its commitment to keeping them low. This environment has put pressure on money market funds yielding close to 0.1 percent, which has affected those retirement plan participants seeking preservation of capital. Many of these same participants are close to retirement and cannot afford to lose a significant portion of their retirement portfolios, but they’re also seeking returns to keep pace with inflation.

Today’s post on the recent strong performance of growth stocks comes from Brian Price, senior vice president of investment management and research here at Commonwealth. Over to you, Brian!

Overall, July was a good month for the markets. As the month began, we saw strong job gains, declining layoff numbers, and rising consumer confidence and spending. Markets rose on this good news. But then infection counts went up, leading to state-level closures. This shift hit hiring and confidence, slowing the recovery. As a result, several market indices declined from their midmonth levels.

Last week was packed with economic updates that touched on wide swaths of the economy. The first estimate of second-quarter GDP growth drew a lot of attention. It showed the economy contracted at the fastest quarterly rate on record, highlighting the devastating economic impact of anti-coronavirus measures. This will be another relatively busy week for economic updates, with a focus on business confidence and the July employment report.

Today, let's take a look at where we are in the coronavirus crisis, including the economic and market implications. On the pandemic front, we had some good news this week. At the state level, case growth in most of the worst affected states appeared to have peaked. Nationally, the number of new cases was about 70,000 (almost the same as last week), and the daily spread rate improved from just under 2 percent to 1.5 percent per day. Overall, the national risks remain under control, and the possibility of another national shutdown is very unlikely.

The good news this week is that things are starting to get better. Case growth has peaked, at least in the short term, and the case growth rate has ticked down. After last week’s stabilization of the second wave, this progress is the next step. The data indicates that, in many states, outbreaks are being contained, as expected.

One of the reasons behind the recent decline of the dollar is reportedly the fact that the Fed has largely committed to keeping rates low—the market believes—forever. Looking at the yield curve, the 30-year Treasury rates are at 1.22 percent as I write this. With rates that low, the value of the dollar would certainly take a hit if other central banks raised rates.