Thursday's jobless claims data was stronger-than-expected, which is yet another data point suggesting that there are cracks beginning to form in the labor market. On the eve of Jerome Powell's closely watched commentary in Jackson Hole, investors are looking for assurance from Powell that a rate cut is likely at [...]

The EU trade deal only fuels this bull market as a major uncertainty has now been removed for investors. The deal shows that serious progress is being made on the trade situation and helps to justify the stock market’s strong gains since the April lows. It appears that many [...]

If strong: Thursday’s stronger-than-expected PPI shows that inflation data remains volatile and that the inflationary effects from tariffs that many were worried about may be starting to show up in the data. Thursday’s strong PPI adds confusion to the inflation picture, especially after Wednesday’s softer-than-expected CPI. It may take [...]

The stock market's rally has legs, as the trade negotiation with China was seemingly the toughest one on the docket, and the idea that there has been this much progress on the negotiations over such a short period of time, suggests that a resolution may be on the horizon. [...]

(1) The stock market's tariff-driven volatility has now started to incorporate some Federal Reserve-driven volatility, as it remains clear that the Fed is not coming to the rescue by cutting rates at this time, and that's making investors nervous. We caution investors to be careful what they wish for when [...]