Some will dismiss the growth as "the rich getting richer," but the facts say otherwise. Usual weekly earnings for full-time workers at the bottom 10% are up 4.6% versus a year ago; earnings for those at the bottom 25% are up 5.3% from a year ago. By contrast, usual weekly earnings for the median worker are up 3.9% while earnings for those at the top 25% and top 10% are up less than 2%. Yes, that's right, incomes are growing faster at the bottom of the income spectrum than at the top. A higher e… View More
Markets were mixed Last week, with small and mid-cap stocks gaining while large cap stocks were mostly unchanged. Tax reform once again dominated headlines: the House passed its version of the legislation, while the Senate bill advanced out of the Finance Committee on a party line vote; the Senate may schedule a vote in two weeks. Retailers outperformed; Wal-Mart’s digital and e-commerce initiatives helped produce a +2.7% increase in same-store-sales, the company’s best quarterly performance… View More
Click here to view a side-by-side comparison of the House and the Senate versions of a new tax plan. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. … View More
Stocks lagged last week as competing visions of tax reform weighed on investor sentiment; small cap stocks and sectors which respond to economic growth, such as Materials and Industrials, underperformed. On Thursday, the Senate revealed its proposal for tax legislation which differs from the House version that was released last week. Republican lawmakers now face the challenge of crafting a bill that can pass both chambers with a simple majority vote. The market’s negative reaction this week m… View More
With the stock market at its current level, a recurring question many investors have is when will we reach the top, or are we there already? In answer to this question, we believe the market will continue to climb. Consumer confidence continues to be strong and the data can be validated across multiple data sources, like the level of voluntary separation from employment (which is at levels not seen since the early 2000's), the savings rate (which has dropped, typically indicating a higher level … View More