M Notes: Mon, 1-26

LAST WEEK:

Markets:  Big moves both Tuesday and Wednesday, as the Markets digested Trump’s intensions for Greenland.  

S&P roller coaster last week:  Holiday, Down significantly, Up a lot, Up, and Up just a touch.  

Fed Balance Sheet:  $6.585 Trillion. 

GDP:  In the final read, Q3 GDP finished at +4.4%.  

Holiday:  US Markets were closed Monday, in observance of the MLK Holiday.

Inflation:  The PCE, the metric the Fed watches the most for Inflation, rose less than expected in November.  Consensus was for an increase of +0.5%, but the number came in at +0.3%.  On a Y/Y basis, Inflation remained at +3.0%.  

National Debt:  $38.656 Trillion.  

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THIS WEEK:

Focus of the week:  The Fed Meeting.  In the first meeting of 2026, will the FOMC cut their interest rate (what they charge the banks)?  Unlikely.  But inquiring minds want to know.  We’ll find out Wednesday afternoon (at 2pm). 

Calendar:   New Home Sales (Tue); FOMC meeting announcement, Fed Chair Press Durable Goods Orders (Wed); Trade Deficit, Factory Orders (Thu); and the PPI (Fri).

Earnings:  Some of the companies reporting this week:  ADP, Altria, American Express, Apple, AT&T, Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, Comcast, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Mastercard, Meta, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, ParkerHannifin, Progressive, Shell, Starbucks, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Union Pacific, UnitedHealth, UPS, Verizon, and Visa.    

* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.    The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks.  The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System.  Yahoo! Finance, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily and Barron’s are several of the sources used for financial information. 

* The National Debt figure comes from usdebtclock.org.   

* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.  Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.  You cannot invest directly in an index.   Past performance does not guarantee future results. No strategy can assure a profit or protect against a loss.  Investments in the securities markets involve risk, such as loss of your principal.