News & Insights
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended March 1
Earnings scorecard Companies in the S&P 500 posted an average earnings gain of 4.0% over the same quarter a year earlier, according to FactSet data from the recently concluded fourth-quarter earnings season. That result marked the second consecutive year-over-year earnings increase following the third quarter’s 4.7% rise. Communication services posted a 45.0% gain, […]
LPL: Diverging Inflation Experience Between The U.S. vs. EU
Key Takeaways January Consumer Prices Surprised to the Upside If we’ve learned anything throughout this cycle, it’s that investors must peer beneath the headlines to get a handle on what is actually happening in the economy. Yesterday’s release on consumer prices illustrated this point. January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) surprised to the upside as prices […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended February 23
Fed’s rate agenda U.S. Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that recent progress in reducing inflation could be reversed by any strong growth in spending by consumers and hiring by businesses. Minutes of the Fed’s late January meeting that were released on Wednesday showed that some officials “noted the risk that progress toward price stability […]
BlackRock: Systematic Equity Outlook
Key points Putting it all together Our conviction in the soft landing outcome and the opportunity to exploit related equity pricing dynamics remains intact. In terms of broad portfolio positioning, our largely pro-risk stance is reflected in a favorable outlook for cyclical value across consumer discretionary and industrial sectors. At the same time, duration […]
LPL: Interest Rates And Potential Impact On Equities
Key Takeaways Investors have been playing a game of “how high will they go?” with Treasury yields this month. Better-than-expected economic data and Tuesday’s uptick in core consumer inflation have repriced Federal Fed rate-cut expectations further out on the calendar. Fed funds futures are now pricing in June as the most likely scenario for the […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended February 16
Inflation’s persistence Stocks fell and bond yields rose on Tuesday after a monthly inflation report showed that U.S. consumer prices rose more than most economists had expected in January, with the Consumer Price Index’s annual rate coming in at 3.1%. A separate report on Friday reinforced the narrative of continuing inflationary pressures, as wholesale prices […]
Capital Group: Rob Lovelace On What’s In Store For 2024
As we embark on a new year, the challenges ahead are well defined. Interest rates are elevated. Elections are upcoming. And U.S. stock indexes are near all-time highs. Are these events setting the stage for a disappointing pullback or another bull run? In this wide-ranging Q&A, Rob […]
Visual Capitalist: The World’s Largest Consumer Markets In 2030
Forecast: The World’s Largest Consumer Markets in 2030 Consumers are the lifeblood of the global economy, the driving force behind market dynamics, and the ultimate arbiters of demand. But where are the biggest congregations of consumers, and are they growing? We visualize the 20 largest consumer markets in the world, based on 2030 projections […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended February 9
Earnings turnaround In the space of three weeks, slightly negative expectations for the current quarterly earnings season turned solidly positive. As of Friday, fourth-quarter net income was expected to rise 2.9% compared with the year-ago quarter, based on the two-thirds of S&P 500 companies that have already reported plus projections for those that haven’t […]
LPL: How Much More Can Consumers Spend?
Key Takeaways Who Holds the Keys? Just like the job market holds the keys for future Fed policy, it seems the luxury consumer will be key for future consumer spending. According to the CEO of Saks, the demand for luxury goods is here to stay. However, recent data could be telling us another story. The […]