Markets Taxed by Negative News

“IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF BOLDNESS AND A GREAT DEAL OF CAUTION TO MAKE A GREAT FORTUNE.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. And a great deal of caution was definitely important last week, as “earnings season” began on Wall Street. First quarter earnings for Stocks got off to a bit of a rough start, with disappointing news from aluminum company Alcoa - always the first in line to report.

General Electric surprised to the downside on Friday, with worse than expected earnings and comments on future earnings, cautioning they’d likely be lower than previously thought. The Stock market didn’t like the negative tone and lost some ground, while Bonds moved both up and down during the week - hurt by some inflationary fears, but helped by cash coming over from Stocks. For the week overall, home loan rates ended up close to where they began.

In other news last week, “Meeting Minutes” from the March 18th Fed meeting revealed that infamous Fed Presidents Richard “Loose Lips” Fisher and Charlie Plosser both dissented from the recent decision to cut the Fed Funds Rate, stating that “inflation expectations could potentially become unhinged, if the Fed continues to lower the Fed Funds Rate in the current environment.” Bold comments from two who clearly believe caution regarding inflation is of the utmost importance.

And caution, rather than confidence, seems to be the word of the moment, as Consumer Sentiment for April was reported far below expectations, representing a 26-yr low for the index. This very ugly reading suggests that consumers may be hesitant to make large purchases, which does not bode well for future economic prospects.

Despite the dark cloud cast from the negative economic news, the silver lining is that home loan rates are once again near levels not seen since mid-2005. But remember, these low rates can change quickly. To see how you may benefit from the current market conditions, feel free to contact me.

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Click here to read my Forecast for the Week