AGZ News and Press, iShares Agency Bond From 04/06/24

2024-04-06 03:50:00 ET Summary For the past 12 months, despite the interest rates that the Fed jacked up to 5.25%, nearly 3 million nonfarm payroll jobs have been added. Average hourly earnings rose in March at an annualized rate of 4.3%, also according to the survey of employers,...

2024-04-06 02:50:00 ET Summary Prices will rise when the eagerness of buyers outpaces the eagerness of the sellers regardless of the depth of the market. This month’s labor report showed one of the sharpest slowdowns of recent years with the rate of change slowing from 4.6%...

2024-04-05 08:25:00 ET Summary By January 2025, the Federal Reserve  is likely to be in an easing cycle, which may benefit the market regardless of who wins the election. A recent quote from Fed Chair Jerome Powell about the Fed, inflation, and confidence was music to my ears...

2024-04-05 07:05:00 ET Summary Every firm is expecting rate cuts anticipating a recession but there is no recession in sight. Employment has been rising with some believing the numbers are manipulated because they believed the PMI was literally screaming recession. Expectation...

2024-04-04 14:20:00 ET Summary The broadest measure of economic activity, growth in real GDP, slowed in the fourth quarter. The U-3 unemployment rate has edged higher from last April (3.4 percent) to February (3.9 percent). In a no-landing scenario, the unemployment rate would...

2024-04-04 03:25:00 ET Summary Inflation pressures remain quite subdued; disinflation is still in place. The market continues to harbor a long-ingrained reflex that says that in order for inflation to decline, the economy needs to weaken. Low and declining inflation and modera...

2024-04-03 08:30:00 ET Summary Market swings punctuated the first quarter as “central bank speak” proliferated and caused confusion. I put first quarter global markets into perspective and highlight some “little victories” that may have been easy to ove...

2024-04-02 15:00:00 ET Summary The number of job vacancies remains elevated, but is moving into better balance with the supply of available workers. A slowing quit rates suggests a broader cooling is happening, which implies a moderation in labour cost growth that will help ease b...

2024-04-02 05:30:00 ET Summary The stock market rang the doorbell of the New Year with a bang during the 1st quarter. Despite the magnitude and duration of the bull market, there is still a lot of angst and anxiety over the upcoming election. If economic data slows significant...

2024-04-01 22:02:06 ET Summary Different bonds have different characteristics, including credit quality, maturities, duration, and others. Maturities are of particular importance when interest rates are in flux, as they currently are. An analysis and comparison of short-term a...