Economic Updates

Economic Update July 2019

Economic Update: A Review of Second Quarter 2019

The U.S. economy has shown growth for 121 consecutive months since June 2009. Unfortunately, our GDP growth may be slowing down. Goldman Sachs predicts that the European Central Bank will lower its deposit rate by 20 basis points and restart quantitative easing in September.

Economic Update: A Review of First Quarter 2019

Economic Update: A Review of First Quarter 2019

The stock market rebounded sharply in the first quarter, roughly making up for losses during the fourth quarter of 2018. Economic news didn’t change substantially over the last three months, but market sentiment clearly did.

Economic Update A Review of Third Quarter 2018

Economic Update: A Review of Third Quarter 2018

Markets rewarded the strong U.S. economic performance with equally strong U.S. equity performance during the third quarter. Those returns, however, were not matched throughout the rest of the world. Concerns about escalating tariffs seem to have taken a toll on international market sentiment.

Economic Update: A Review of 2017

For the year as a whole, the U.S. market experienced strong returns. This was despite a particularly destructive hurricane season which, according to Moody's, resulted in combined U.S. property damage of over $200 billion. Another one of the most remarkable things about 2017 was the complete lack of market volatility. But perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the stability of Eurozone politics after years of disarray.

Economic Update

Market gains so far this year might have made some valuations a little stretched, but it is not too difficult to see a path to continued gains. In the U.S., for instance, tax reform could have a substantial effect on corporate profitability if it is enacted. And if the current growth trends continue overseas, that would likely result in further international stock market gains as well.

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