M Notes: Mon, 5-8

LAST WEEK:

Markets:  In the wake of the 3rd bank failure since March, Markets paused a bit this last week. 

S&P roller coaster last week:  down a touch, down, down, down, and up a lot.

Fed Balance Sheet:   $8.504 trillion (down $59 billion). 

Fed meeting:  As expected the Federal Reserve raised their interest rate a ¼ point.  The Fed funds rate is now at 5.0%-5.25%.  That’s the highest rate the Fed has had in over 15 years.  

ISM:  Their manufacturing index rose from 46.3 up to 47.1.   Their services index rose from 51.2 up to 51.9.  Numbers below 50 signify a contraction of the economy, while numbers above 50 signify an expansion of the economy.  

Jobless claims:  The weekly number came in at 242,000.  The four-week average came in at 239,000.

Jobs:  The Jobs number beat expectations, coming in at 253,000 (the consensus was 173,000).  

Radio:  Bill and I chatted about the most recent bank failure, and I shared a banking insider’s viewpoint on what’s going on.  Here’s the link https://parker-wealth.com/bill-and-chris-podcasts/bill-and-chris-fri-5-5 .  You can hear Bill and I talk about Markets and the Economy most Friday mornings at 6:40am, 7:40am, and 8:40am on WTAM 1100 AM.  

Trade deficit:  it came in at -$64.2 billion.  Exports rose +$5.3 billion while imports declined -$1.1 billion.   

Unemployment:  The U3 unemployment number dropped unexpectantly from 3.5% down to 3.4%.  

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THIS WEEK:

Focus of the week:  It will be all about Inflation this week.  The Consumer Price Index (consumer inflation) is expected to remain at 5.0%.  The Producer Price Index (wholesale inflation) is expected to drop from 2.7% down to 2.5%.  

Earnings:  Some of the companies reporting this week: Airbnb, Allianz, Disney, Duke Energy, Honda, PayPal, Siemens, and Transdigm Group.  

Economic calendar:  The CPI (Wed); The PPI, and jobless claims (Thu).