Back in October 2018, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index reached its highest level since September 2000, even in the midst of a stock market slide and fears of inflation and rising interest rates. Another measure of consumer confidence, the Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, remained higher in 2018 than in any year this century. [...]
Back in December, the Fed established benchmark federal funds rates at 2.25 to 2.5 percent, and we’ve all been watching for (and trying to predict) news of any changes. Now, after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on March 20, along with other news, we have an answer: It looks like the Fed won’t [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Last month, the Federal Reserve announced a rate hike. The benchmark federal funds rate was increased by 25 basis points, which translates to a 1.5 to 1.75 percent bump. To explain the rate hike, the Fed stated, “the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Evaluating the state of the economy involves many factors, with the unemployment rate being one of the most critical. In 2017 we received the good news that our nation's unemployment rate has dropped to just 4.4 percent... So let's break down what that means, and what it doesn't mean. The good [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Have you heard the good news? Our economy is doing quite well at the moment, as we enjoy the third-longest stretch of market expansions in US history. In fact, we’re only two years away from it becoming the longest one ever! In the stock market, the S&P is performing well, with the [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: In December, the Fed finally moved ahead with the interest rate hike that had been promised all year. Overall, this is a good sign, as interest rates have remained low for nearly a decade following the economic crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession. An interest rate hike is a sign [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: If you were surprised by the Brexit outcome on June 23, you weren’t alone. Going against polls that predicted Britain would remain with the European Union, voters actually decided to exit. And of course, markets responded negatively to the surprise. Stock prices dropped, rising bond prices caused interest rates to fall, [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Each spring, we all sit down with a calculator and piles of documents, and we file our tax returns. Despite efforts at simplifying the process, many of us still make mistakes. In fact, the Government Accountability Office says that a small undercover study in February detected errors in 17 out of [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: In the past eight months, we've watched oil prices take a tumble, from highs above 100 dollars per barrel down to about 33 dollars in February. While drivers might be happy to discover low prices at the pump, some of you might be worried about what this means for our economy [...]
Toward the end of August, we experienced an enormous drop in our stock market that surprised many Wall Street investors. But trouble had already been brewing in China throughout the summer. Considering that China is the second largest economy in the world, and their business activity accounted for 38 percent of the globe's Gross Domestic [...]