Succinct Summations for the week ending November 16th, 2018
Positives:
1. The FOMC seems ready to pause raising rates for a meeting;
2. WTI Oil prices have completed a round trip, falling back to where they were in in 2017.
3. Retail sales rose 0.8% in October, exceeding the expected 0.5% increase; Same store sales rose 6.1% w/o/w for the second week in a row.
4. CPI rose 0.3% m/o/m, meeting expectations.
5. Business inventories rose 0.3% m/o/m, meeting expectations.
Negatives:
1. Brexit mayhem is a fresh reminder that European alliances are fraying under the combined weight of popularism and agnotology.
2. The 30 yr mortgage rate hit 5.17% — an 8 1/2 year high.
3. Jobless claims rose 2k w/o/w, from 214k to 216k.
4. Import and export prices rose 0.5% and 0.4% m/o/m.
5. Mortgage applications fell a seasonally-adjusted 2.3% w/o/w, reaching the lowest level since February 2017.
Thanks, Matt!
