FRI News and Press, First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund From 10/09/22

Summary U.S. equity markets snapped a three-week skid in another choppy week after employment data showed signs of softening in labor markets - but not enough to alter the Fed's aggressive tightening path. Bouncing off its lowest levels in over two years, the S&P 500 advanced ...

Summary Few sectors escaped this year’s global equity selloff in Q3. Those most vulnerable to the punishing effects of the recent spike in interest rates have paid an especially heavy toll. Real estate, telecom, utilities and tech were the worst performers in most marke...

Summary Looking at raw affordability, we find August 2022's median household income would cover just 17.21% of the cost of a median new home in the U.S., near the new record low of 17.18% for July 2022. August 2022's improvement in the affordability of new homes may be very short-...

Summary In the week ended September 30, demand for mortgages to purchase a home plunged by 13%, seasonally adjusted, from the already beaten-down levels in the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday. The weekly drop was in part caused by Hurricane I...

Summary Hotel REITs have held up surprisingly well throughout the recent market turmoil and remain one of the top-performing property sectors this year following a solid summer of operating performance. Several years of pent-up leisure demand from COVID delays helped to offset a s...

Summary We expect macro headwinds will continue to pressure U.S. corporate earnings in the coming months. We expect earnings expectations to decline as multinational firms realize foreign exchange headwinds that accelerated over the past year. Investors can avoid undue interna...

Summary Today, you have a “once in a decade” chance to win big with REITs. REITs have dropped heavily despite enjoying strong fundamentals. Let others panic. REITs always recovered and richly reward those who bought them following market crashes. The st...

Summary The Fed’s goal is to inflict quick, near-term pain on the economy in exchange for long-term price stability and future economic gains. When it comes to inflation, the good news is that it appears to be peaking, and many economists see the declining inflation trend c...

Summary Last week, the 2-year Treasury rate rose above 4.3%, the 10-year Treasury rose above 3.9%, and mortgage rates topped 7%, their highest level in 20 years. By reducing its balance sheet by $95 billion per month, the Fed has sent the 10-year rate substantially higher. The...

Summary Construction spending in August ticked up to a record $165.5 billion (not seasonally adjusted), according to the Census Bureau’s estimates. In terms of the seasonally adjusted annual rates of residential construction, the rate of spending on single-family houses fel...