Weekly Economic & Investment Recap: 2.15.08

February 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Attached/linked please find And That’s The Week That Was, the Brounes & Associates market/economic commentary for the week ended February 15, 2008. As the campaign season heats up, more Americans seem to be getting the fever and are even tuning into Congressional hearings for a look at our political system at its “finest.”  (Of course, that newfound interest only occurs when such hearings are simulcast on ESPN.)  While Clemens/McNamee may have garnered much of Congress’ attention of the week, Paulson/Bernanke testified before the Senate and shared their (increasingly negative) views on the economy (though their statements were not highlighted on SportsCenter).
Stocks rose early in the week as W. signed that stimulus package into law, but gave back some ground once the over-analysis of the testimonies began (Bernanke’s not Clemens’).  Some surprising retail results brought about a tad more optimism about future consumer activity, though the naysayers still seem to outnumber and a late week sentiment index fell to levels not seen in 16 years.  Earnings season continued with mixed results and Hugo made some idle threats to the domestic energy sector. 

Next week, Americans will have another opportunity to get in the political spirit with a celebration of our past presidents (that probably will not be covered on ESPN).

And That’s The Week That Was: 12.14.07

December 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Attached/linked please find And That’s The Week That Was…the Brounes & Associates market/economic commentary for the week ended December 14, 2007.  So, which report was more widely read this week: the summary of the Fed’s policy meeting or the Mitchell report on steroid use in baseball?  While Dr. Bernanke probably had a better week than Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, he caught a bit of grief from investors who thought that a larger rate cut was in order.  As the week progressed, the major inflation releases brought new fears that the surge in oil prices is starting to work its way through other sectors of the economy.  The subprime debacle continued though one major investment firm seemed to benefit from others’ misfortunes.  Most equity indexes fell this week and suddenly those positive gains for the full year are no longer foregone conclusions (particularly among small-caps).  Likewise, fixed income securities lost value as investors tried to understand the ramification of a Fed liquidity plan.  Now, is HGH banned at the New York Stock Exchange? 

Coming up in the week ahead:  Housing Starts (Tuesday), GDP (Thursday), Personal Income/Spending (Friday)

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