Consumer inflation has accelerated recently, bucking disinflation and deflation concerns that had permeated financial markets earlier this year.

In August, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at least 0.3% for a third straight month, the first time that’s happened since April 1995. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, core CPI rose 2.4% year over year last month, one of the fastest paces of growth in this economic cycle.

Gauges of consumer inflation slowed earlier in 2019 as trade uncertainty weakened global demand. Then, consumer spending picked up and the United States continued to in

The European Central Bank (ECB) met the market’s expectations Thursday in Mario Draghi’s swan song as the head of the central bank. The central bank cut its deposit rate by 0.1%, going further into negative territory, and restarted quantitative easing, in which it will purchase 20 billion euros in bonds monthly to help lower interest rates and inject liquidity into the financial system. The ECB also announced a tiered system to ease the pressure of negative rates on banks, exempting them from paying for the “privilege” of parking cash on some funds.

While these moves are bold, the central bank may have pas

On this 18th anniversary of 9/11, our thoughts go out to everyone impacted on that fateful day.

“The higher the base, the higher in space,” is an old technical analysis saying.

Gold is up 18% year-to-date (as of 9/10/2019), poised for its best year since 2010, when it gained 30%. We see many reasons why this rally may have legs.

Last year’s action was rare: The S&P 500 Index, 10-year U.S. Treasuries, and gold were all lower. Going back to 1971, when gold was officially removed from the gold standard, last year was the first year that all three assets were lower in a calendar year. Now

Real rates (yields minus expected inflation) crossed into negative territory last week, garnering attention from the financial press as an additional signal of an economy at risk.

But, as shown in LPL Research’s Chart of the day, Real Yields Have Been Here Before, the message from real yields may be more benign. While real yields could be a warning of a slowing economy and some added economic stress, they have not acted as a reliable recession signal for the current cycle, and they were above 2% heading into the 2008–09 recession. (Real yields are estimated by the yield on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securiti