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Slower Faster
Friday’s employment report suggests the US economy may be slowing down faster than most investors think. Nonfarm payrolls increased 142,000 in August, but revisions to June and July brought the net gain down to a modest 56,000. And the details were worse. We like to follow payrolls excluding three sectors: government, education & health services,…
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U.S. housing: An underappreciated growth market
Many investors, economists and policymakers have doubted the strength of the U.S. housing market, largely due to skyrocketing mortgage rates and plummeting affordability. The near-term dynamics that drive the housing cycle are sending mixed signals today, with prices higher even as sales have been depressed. But I believe longer term trends point to solid growth…
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Is the Stock Market too High, or Is Now a Good Time to Invest?
The equity market capitalization of the S&P 500 Index is 44 trillion dollars as of 5/31/24. The forecasted earnings of the index for 2024 is expected to surpass 2.0 trillion dollars. That would be the best-ever earnings for the index. It would also be the 4th year in a row where earnings have been significantly…
