My colleague Sam Millette, manager, fixed income on Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team, has helped me put together this month’s Economic Risk Factor Update. Thanks for the assist, Sam!
News
Worries Rise as Markets Drop
Yesterday was another bad down day in the markets. Not only that, but other assets are getting hit as well, with bitcoin getting hit even more than the general financial markets. As worries rise, when will the bleeding stop?
Monday Update: Hiring Remained Strong in April
There were several important economic data releases last week, with reports covering business confidence, international trade, the results from the Fed’s May meeting, and the April employment report. The jobs report was a highlight, as it showed continued strong hiring in April despite the headwinds created by rising labor costs and tighter monetary policy. This will be another busy week of updates, with a focus on the April inflation reports.
Stock Market Continues to Slide
Yesterday saw another significant drop in stock markets, more than reversing the bounce we saw the prior day. Up, down, up, down, but largely down—it looks like the market is headed down indefinitely.
What You Need to Know: Is Renewed Growth Ahead?
One of the key things I do as an analyst is figure out what can be safely ignored. In today’s environment, with so many “different this time” events going on—the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the 40-year high in inflation—what can we safely disregard? Finding the right answer is not as simple as it was a couple of years ago.
Looking Back at the Markets in April and Ahead to May 2022
April was a hard month for the markets. For the month, U.S. markets were down between 5 percent for the Dow and 14 percent for the Nasdaq, and international markets fell between 5 percent and 7 percent. Fixed income was also down for the month—there was truly nowhere to hide.