by Mark Chandik | Nov 20, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was unchanged in October from the prior month. It is up 3.2% from a year ago. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 0.2%. The core...
by Mark Chandik | Oct 30, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported last week that Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the largest measure of goods and services for the economy, expanded at an annual pace of 4.9% in the third quarter. It’s the...
by Mark Chandik | Sep 25, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary The Federal Reserve surprised virtually no one when Fed officials unanimously voted to keep the fed funds rate unchanged at 5.25 – 5.50% on Wednesday. While it is the second time the Fed has punted on a rate hike this year (the last time was...
by Mark Chandik | Sep 18, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary Progress on inflation won’t be in a straight line. That’s to be expected. Following two low readings in June and July, the number picked up in August. It wasn’t unusually concerning. But following a 0.2% monthly increase in the Consumer Price...
by Mark Chandik | Sep 11, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary Mortgage rates soared last year, rising from nearly 3% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to as high as 7.08%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey. Predictably, housing sales fell sharply last year, and there were plenty of...
by Mark Chandik | Sep 5, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary It sounds like a contradiction. Jobs increased last month, but the unemployment rate also rose. What happened? Nonfarm payrolls rose by 187,000 in August, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), while the unemployment rate rose...
