U.S. Economics Economic data continue to impress, with wages finally moving higher by about 3% year over year, and S&P 500 profits expected to rise by 15–16%. More positive news is that the U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter, and with the creation of several new gasification and Read more
The tax bill has passed and has been signed into law, the dust is settling. Accountants and tax lawyers report that it will be moderately beneficial for most individual income tax payers. Ambitious reformers had hoped the tax code would be so simplified that most filers could use a post-card, Read more
Market Summary The U.S. Economy – The Tax Bill good for U.S. Economy and Good for U.S. Stock Market Readers know that we are bullish on the U.S. economic outlook. The passage of the tax bill will create further impetus for economic growth in the U.S. We will not be Read more
The U.S. Economy: Good Performance On Many Fronts U.S. employment data from the Labor department corroborates the evidence that non-farm payrolls rose for the 86th straight month in November, with 228,000 new jobs created. Because of the steady hiring, the unemployment rate has been at 4.1% for two months, holding Read more
For Investors, Corporate Taxes Are the Most Important Part of the Tax Bill The administration is close to notching its first major policy success with the passage of a sprawling tax cut. We will wait until the legislation is finalized before commenting on its consequences in detail. However, for many Read more
Market Summary The U.S. Economy U.S. economic data for the second calendar quarter came out yesterday, and they were very strong. According to the latest revision, U.S. GDP grew by 3% in the quarter, and was far above the estimates of almost all economists. For the third quarter, the most Read more
When Investing, We Must Keep the Big Picture In Mind The U.S. and many global stock markets have continued to move ahead. Even rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, and the theoretical prospect of nuclear war, were met by markets with a brief shrug — and this during a seasonal Read more
Second-Quarter U.S. Earnings Come In Strong 93% of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter earnings; the remainder will continue into early September. As of this writing, bottom-up earnings for the S&P stand at $32.63, representing a 5.9% quarter-over-quarter increase and a 10.6% year-over-year increase. In short, earnings are strong — Read more
Yes, Higher GDP Growth Is Possible In the U.S. — and Here’s How It Can Be Achieved Sometimes, academic economists are worth paying attention to. A recent paper published by the Hoover Institution provided one of the best summaries we have read of the current state of the U.S. economy, Read more
Sparking Growth Without Congressional Action After last year’s U.S. presidential election, small business optimism spiked at the fastest pace since the Reagan administration. Whatever the personal political views of American small business owners, they saw a silver lining in the election result: a likely turn from the previous administration’s regulatory Read more
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