by Mark Chandik | Oct 2, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary Government shutdowns make for good political drama. Nonessential workers are furloughed, travel plans to national parks could be interrupted, and some services are limited. A shutdown also increases investor anxiety. But should sentiment take...
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...
by Mark Chandik | Aug 21, 2023
Weekly Market Commentary Recession talk earlier this year and a belief that the Federal Reserve was nearly finished hiking interest rates kept a lid on longer-term Treasury yields. That’s changed. Last Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 4.30%, according to...
