The revised Q1 GDP reading is not indicative of the underlying growth trend in the US economy, said Alan Krueger, professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Investors would be wise to look past the first-quarter numbers as there were some special factors such as very bad weather in the North East, labor disputes on the West Coast …
One Man’s Opinion: Will US Equities Pull Back If The Euro Is Threatened?
From a fundamental backdrop, the outlook for the US economy seems relatively constructive in terms of the macro environment, while from a policy perspective, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to do anything that’s going to undermine the notion that it has been a very cautious, pragmatic deliberate approach by the US central bank, said Mike Ryan, chief investment strategist at …
One Man’s Opinion: Do European Bond Yields Indicate A Shift In Growth Expectations?
The big movements in global interest rates were really about changes in global expectations, particularly around longer term inflation expectations, which is partly related to the turnaround in oil prices and other developments such as shift in expectations for European growth and that’s impacting primarily longer-dated interest rates, said Jeff Rosenberg, chief investment strategist for fixed income at BlackRock. On …
One Man’s Opinion: Has Wage Inflation Stalled Because Of Weak Productivity Growth?
The latest nonfarm payrolls report indicate the economy rebounded in the second quarter, although productivity growth seems to have stagnated for some time now, said Ed Lazear, professor of economics at Stanford University. Creating more jobs without adding to productivity means more people are carving up pieces from the same GDP pie. One of the good things that happened during …
One Man’s Opinion: Are Policy Uncertainty And High Costs Holding Back The Investment Cycle Take-Off?
It’s true the US economy didn’t see the typical response that is witnessed when central banks initiate a zero interest rate policy, said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Sterne Agee. Normally, lowering of interest rate by the Federal Reserve would trigger elevated economic activity with big and small businesses taking on more loans, thus drawing down the pool of available …
One Man’s Opinion: Can US Investors Shift To US Treasuries To De-Risk Portfolios?
In the first quarter, US markets witnessed lots of worries such as a stronger dollar, weak oil prices and the timing of an interest-rate liftoff; but that seems to fade away as the economy enters into the second quarter, said Kate Nixon, CIO at Northern Trust Wealth Management. The energy markets have stabilized along with the greenback and despite the …