The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report this week revealing that the number of American workers who are voluntarily quitting their jobs may have peaked, after hitting record levels in September. The overall quit rate fell from 3% in September to 2.8% in October, […]
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6 Things To Know About December And Omicron
Here comes December, historically a pretty solid month for stocks, but now we have the Omicron variant wreaking havoc on markets. “What a difference a week makes. A week ago stocks were at all-time highs and the economy was strong. Now all we have are uncertainties and questions,” explained LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan […]
Read MoreTech is Leading Again
The S&P 500 Information Technology Sector has gained 27% in the past six months, outperforming the broader S&P 500 by more than 10%. But could its run of leadership just be getting started? As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, the sector just broke out to fresh relative highs for the first time […]
Read MoreFederal Reserve Meeting Recap- It’s Finally Taper Time
The Federal Reserve (Fed) ended its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting yesterday and, as expected, announced plans to reduce (taper) its $120 billion a month bond purchase program starting this month. The Fed plans to reduce its Treasury purchases by $10 billion each month and its mortgage securities purchases by $5 billion a month, […]
Read MoreLeading Indicators Show Tempered Optimism for Economy
On Thursday, October 21, the Conference Board released its September 2021 report detailing the latest reading for the Leading Economic Index (LEI), a composite of ten data series that tend to lead changes in economic activity. Many economic data points are backward-looking, but we pay special attention to the LEI, as it has a forward-looking tilt […]
Read MoreRenewed Inflationary Concerns Pushing Global Yields Higher
The week of September 20 was notable for monetary policy as there were eleven central bank meetings, including the U.S., E.U., U.K., Turkey, and Norway, to name a few. While many of these countries are in different phases of an economic recovery and some of these central banks are providing different levels of monetary accommodation, […]
Read MoreLeading Indicators Show Optimism For Domestic Economy
On Thursday, September 23, the Conference Board released its August 2021 report detailing the latest reading for the Leading Economic Index (LEI), a composite of ten data series that tend to lead changes in economic activity. Many economic data points are backward-looking, but we pay special attention to the LEI, as it has a forward-looking […]
Read MoreWhy Evergrande Isn’t The Next Lehman
Chinese property developer Evergrande’s liquidity crisis has sparked fear and massive selling in Chinese property stocks over the past several weeks. The big question is could this be the first domino to fall, sparking a systemic risk scenario, similar to when Lehman Brothers went under 13 years ago this week? The good news is we […]
Read MoreLeading Indicators Forecasting Continued Growth
With increased concerns about the Delta variant, high inflation, and recent misses on economic data, it can be easy to forget that we’re still in the middle of a robust economic recovery and leading indicators continue to support a positive outlook. On Thursday, August 19, the Conference Board released its July 2021 report detailing the […]
Read MoreHere Comes Friday The 13th
“Friday the 13th is still better than Monday the whatever.” No known person to cite, but LPL Research can’t disagree. Tomorrow, August 13, will be the first Friday the 13th since November 2020. For most people, this is just another day, unless you suffer from triskaidekaphobia—the fear of the number 13. A fear of the actual […]
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