Since the beginning of 2017, the S&P 500 is up about 12 percent. Is it on its way to reaching 2,700? 

The big economic news today is the tax reform proposal that the Trump administration unveiled yesterday. For once, we have a proposal that really does live up to the hype. If passed (a big assumption!), this would be the most consequential revamp of the tax system since 1986 in the Reagan administration.

Sitting here in the U.S., Europe seems pretty far away. With everything that is going on with our government and the high-profile military risks (North Korea, anyone?), it would be easy to pass over the results from the German election. But I think that would be a mistake, as the outcome of this election reveals several important signs for the future.

Last week, the economic data was all about housing. While disappointing overall, there were signs of future improvement. Plus, the potential effects of the hurricanes make it hard to determine if there is real decay or only passing damage. The Fed remains confident, which suggests that the weakness might be short term, rather than something worse.

With the front-page news dominated by politics and the hurricanes, there is actually not a lot to report on the economic front. This is a good thing, as it signals that economy continues to do well. It does, however, make it necessary to dig a bit deeper to find out what we should be paying attention to.

Today, the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting on monetary policy will come to an end. With a news conference already scheduled, markets will be turning toward Washington to see what the Fed is doing today—and where it is likely to go from here.

In the past few weeks, we've seen North Korea launching missiles over Japan and the two worst storms in U.S. history. So, why are the markets still at all-time highs?

Last week presented a wide range of data—from the consumer, to manufacturing, to the economy as a whole. Although the results were generally disappointing, much of that weakness appears to come from the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Historically, major storms have resulted in weak data for a month or two. So, while it is worth watching, we will likely see a bounce back in the coming months.

This morning, you may have heard that the U.S. stock market eked out another new record yesterday. Indeed, this is great news and certainly a big deal—as it comes just days after two major hurricanes hit the U.S. and under the mushroom cloud of a simmering North Korea confrontation (remember that?).

There were only two major data releases last week, but they were important in terms of the business sector: durable goods orders and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Nonmanufacturing index. Both were quite positive on the whole and suggest business confidence remains strong, which may result in faster business investment growth. Overall, the data indicates that the economy remains healthy and that economic growth is likely to continue at current rates or even accelerate over the near term.