Merriman Market Analyst
Free Weekly Forecast
MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MAY 20, 2024 ©
May 17, 2024
Review Inflation eased slightly in April, providing at least a bit of relief for consumers while still holding above levels that would suggest a cut in interest rates is imminent. The consumer price index increased 0.3% from March, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. That was slightly...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MAY 13, 2024 ©
May 10, 2024
Review The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday, wrapping an eighth consecutive winning session and registering its best week of 2024…. Investor enthusiasm was kept in check after consumer sentiment data released Friday morning showed a big uptick in inflation expectations. The preliminary May reading for the University of...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MAY 6, 2024 ©
May 3, 2024
-Review Stocks jumped sharply Friday after a softer-than-expected April jobs report boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates soon. Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report showed 175,000 jobs gained in April, below the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate edged up to...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 29, 2024 ©
April 28, 2024
Review: Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, according to an initial estimate the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday. That was below the 2.2% growth that economists surveyed by FactSet had expected…. Thursday’s slower-than-expected growth could signal that the U.S. economy...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 29, 2024 ©
April 28, 2024
Review: Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, according to an initial estimate the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday. That was below the 2.2% growth that economists surveyed by FactSet had expected…. Thursday’s slower-than-expected growth could signal that the U.S. economy...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 29, 2024 ©
April 26, 2024
Review: Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, according to an initial estimate the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday. That was below the 2.2% growth that economists surveyed by FactSet had expected…. Thursday’s slower-than-expected growth could signal that the U.S. economy...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 22, 2024 ©
April 19, 2024
Due to the all-day workshop this Saturday, April 20, in Ft. Lauderdale and via Zoom, there will be no column per se this week. Instead, we will reprint below our “BRIEF NOTE TO INVESTORS AND TRADERS IN 2024” given in the Forecast 2024 book. This was written in October–November 2023....
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 15, 2024 ©
April 12, 2024
REVIEW Rate cuts are coming. Economically, the dissenters on the (ECB) governing council are probably correct and rate cuts would be better now—but precise timing on monetary policy is less important when the objective is cyclical (precision matters when the aim is liquidity or managing disorderly markets). —Dr. Paul Donovan,...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 8, 2024 ©
April 5, 2024
REVIEW Jobs grew at a brisk pace in March, but wage growth was contained, confirming a belief among economists that the U.S. can continue to expand employment without fanning inflation. U.S. employers added a seasonally adjusted 303,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday, significantly more than the 200,000...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2024 ©
March 29, 2024
REVIEW A key measure of U.S. inflation rose as expected in February, putting a spotlight on whether price growth will be cool enough this spring to justify an interest-rate cut by midyear… “It’s good to see something coming in in-line with expectations,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday… Fed...
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