By Bill Hornbarger, Chief Investment Officer
Three Things to Watch
- The Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday sits front and center this week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has already indicated that the Fed might accelerate its pace of tapering and the markets are pricing Fed rate increases in the first of calendar year 2022. Traders will listen closely to the Fed’s latest thoughts on the pandemic, inflation and the future path of monetary policy.
- Top tier economic data is due this week with producer prices expected to jump 9.2% versus a year ago, and industrial production and retail sales expected to post healthy gains. The regional manufacturing surveys (Empire District, Philadelphia, and Kansas City) are all expected to show continued strength.
- Crypto investors will keep an eye on Bitcoin, which is down more than 25% over the past month.
Three Things to Know
- Saturday, Army and Navy played the 117th edition of the football rivalry between the two schools, with Navy emerging victorious by the score of 17-13. Cadets and midshipmen played the first Army-Navy football game Nov. 29, 1890 on “The Plain” at West Point. Navy had been playing organized football since 1879 and defeated the newly established Army team, 24-0. Although today we know the game as an annual tradition (and it has been such since 1930), there have been 10 times when the Army-Navy game was not played. It’s said that the longest interruption, which lasted from 1894 to 1898, came about after an argument between an Army general and a Navy admiral almost resulted in a duel following the 1893 game. (Source: U.S. Army)
- 4 out of 5 (80%) of childcare centers nationwide reported having staffing shortages as of June. (Source: MFS, National Association for the Education of Young Children)
- It has been a challenging 11 months to be an active equity fund manager. Overall, just 32% of large cap mutual funds have beaten their respective style benchmarks YTD (21% of core, 16% of growth, and 63% of value funds). Fundamental long/short hedge funds have fared no better, with the typical fund posting a flat YTD return according to Goldman Sachs Prime Brokerage compared with +23% for the S&P 500. (Source: Hamilton Lane, Goldman Sachs)
The above information reflects the current opinion of the author. It is based upon sources and data believed to be accurate and reliable. Opinions and forward-looking statements expressed are subject to change without notice. This information does not constitute a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any security mentioned.