QuickTakes

The most concise analysis of the key variables driving the global economy and financial markets.

Short-form takes on current market events.

The Roaring 2020s: Six Years of Resilience, So Far

The economy won’t let us down. Despite numerous crises, real GDP has remained recession-resistant since the Covid lockdown during the first half of 2020. That’s almost six recession-free years notwithstanding the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tightening

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Uncertainty & Breadth

At the end of last year, the words “uncertain” and “uncertainty” appeared 12 times in the minutes of the December 17-18 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. Those words appeared more often during this year’s meetings. The June

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Seinfeld Kind Of Summer Day

Nothing happened today in the financial markets. The prices of stocks, bonds, the dollar, and oil all were relatively flat. On the other hand, there was more Trump Tariff Turmoil (TTT). But the markets watched it all with as much interest as

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Liberation Day II

Liberation Day I occurred on Wednesday, April 2 after the stock market closed, when President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on America’s trading partners. The immediate reaction was what we called “Annihilation Days” in the stock and bond markets

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ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: July 7–11

There’s not much on this week’s economic calendar. The only big event was supposed to occur on Wednesday, July 9. That would have been 90 days after President Donald Trump postponed his April 2 reciprocal tariffs on America’s trading

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Bond Yield Rises, Ignoring Weak ADP Payrolls Report

The 10-year Treasury bond yield rose yesterday and today on mostly upbeat employment indicators. Yesterday, the JOLTS report came in stronger than expected. In addition, initial unemployment claims edged down, according to yesterday’s report. Today, the Challenger report showed a drop in

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Correction: On Fed Governors’ Terms

In previous QuickTakes, we wrote that Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair expires on May 15, 2026 but that he could stay on as a Fed governor until his term in that position expires on January 31,

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Pounding Powell = Pounding The Dollar

There is method to President Donald Trump’s madness regarding Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump has been hammering Powell almost daily recently because doing so is very effectively hammering the foreign-exchange value of the dollar (chart). Trump wants a weaker

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‘Summertime, And The Livin’ Is Easy’

The stock market seems to be carefree. Investors likely figure that any signs of slower economic growth increase the odds that the Fed will ease. Plus, inflation remains remarkably subdued through May notwithstanding Trump’s tariffs. June’s CPI inflation rate is tracking around

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ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: June 30–July 4

It may be July 4th week in the US, but we don’t expect many fireworks on the economic data front. Of course, surprises could come from events in the Middle East, as Israel, Iran, and the Trump administration figure

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Semiconductors Leading The Stock Market Higher

Since the start of the current bull market during October 2022, we recommended overweighting the S&P 500 Information Technology sector and have been especially positive on the S&P 500 Semiconductor industry. We stuck with that recommendation during the correction

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A New Day In The Middle East

Any day with a ceasefire in the Middle East is a good day for stocks. On Monday, President Donald Trump declared that the “12-Day War” between Israel and Iran is over. The S&P 500 rose 2.1% yesterday and today

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Ceasefire

This morning, Iran launched a missile attack on the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities the previous day. The attack involved short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, with Qatar reporting

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ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: June 23–27

Layered on top of a still-developing trade war, President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran puts markets in decidedly uncharted territory. Much will depend on how Iran responds to the attack. Trump said in Saturday’s White House address, if Iran doesn’t

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“UNCONDITONAL SURRENDER”

The stock market held up remarkably well today considering that President Donald Trump abruptly left the Group of Seven meeting in the Canadian Rockies this morning. On his way home, he warned Tehran’s residents to get out of town

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ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: June 16–20

The moment Fed watchers have waited for is finally here—albeit with less drama than many believed a few weeks back. As we’ve long said, the two-day June Federal Open Market Committee meeting (Tue-Wed) should come and go with the

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Betting On Bullish Hard Data, Not Bearish Soft Data

In recent months, the “soft” economic data releases have been weak, while the “hard” data have been strong. The former includes surveys of consumers, small business owners, and purchasing managers. We’ve been betting on the resilience of the economy, as confirmed by the hard data. Stock investors seem

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ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: June 9–13

Many of the questions the Fed has about how Trump’s trade war is impacting the inflation outlook will get timely answers this week. Well, updates at least, since only President Donald Trump knows how long Trump’s Tariff Turmoil (TTT)

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He Said, Xi Said

President Donald Trump said today that he had a “very good talk” with China’s President Xi Jinping for an hour and a half mostly about trade. They also agreed to visit one another. The financial markets yawned. Stock, bond,

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