The jobs number gave stocks a lift on Friday. U.S. payrolls came in much higher than expected and investors celebrated the good news as the unemployment rate edged down to a fifty-year low. In a blink of the eye, stocks erased the entire week’s losses. Non-farm payrolls registered 266,000 jobs, versus expectations of 180,000 jobs gained last month. Investors were expecting some lift in the numbers, simply to account for the end of the General Motors strike, but gains were robust across most industries with the exception of mining and logging. Wages also experienced an uptick bringing the year-over-year total…
Insights & Advice
Bill Schmick
The truth about NATO and defense spending
While it would appear that President Donald Trump left the London NATO Summit this week empty-handed, the truth is he has already achieved what several presidents before him could not. Unfortunately, it is a shallow victory at best. Just a week ago, in preparation for President Trump’s visit, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced a change in the funding of its budget. It agreed to reduce the United States’ contribution to the alliance (now 22%) and redistribute the costs to other members. As a result, the U.S. and Germany will now pay the same amount. Each will contribute 16% of…
Will Santa visit Wall Street this year?
As we kick off the holiday season, investors are sure to wonder whether we will enjoy that seasonal, end-of-year rally that makes the holidays that much more enjoyable. Some argue that this year we are just as likely to receive coal in our stockings as capital gains. And if you need proof that Santa Claus rallies are not guaranteed, all one needs to do is look back to last year. All three major indexes marked the worst performance in December since the 2008 Financial Crisis. The three averages (Dow, S&P and NASDAQ) dropped at least 8.7% for the month with…
Will Santa satisfy retailers?
Ready, get set, go! That’s what the nation’s retailers are hoping you will do, preferably before your Thanksgiving dinner has barely been digested. Black Friday has become Black Week, while holiday shopping now officially includes the entire months of November and December. In 2019, retail sales nationwide are expected to increase by 3.8%-4.2% from last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). That would amount to a total of between $727 to $730 billion being rung up in the nation’s cash registers. That’s not a bad haul when you realize the average holiday sales increase over the last five…