Productivity for the third quarter of 2017 rose 3.0%, the largest one quarter increase since the third quarter of 2014 and over double the average quarterly growth rate since the start of 2009. This surge is significant, as a lack of productivity gro

House Republicans released the initial version of their tax reform bill on Thursday, November 2. After months of aspirational outlines and frameworks devoid of detail, this was the real thing: 400+ pages of proposed legislation covering all of the de

The Calendar Is Ticking on Tax Reform

Along with the holiday anticipation November can bring, it is also historically a bullish time for equities. The S&P 500 Index is on pace to log another gain in October, marking 7 consecutive mon

Beige Book Suggests Continued Moderate Economic Growth

The latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Beige Book, released Wednesday, October 18, 2017, continued to deliver a positive view of the U.S. economy. The Beige Book is a qualitat

The recently released minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) September policy meeting, along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data, have kept the markets focused on inflation. Inflation is half of the Fed&rsq

The U.S. dollar has lagged other currencies so far this year, as persistently low inflation suggested that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would not be as aggressive as global investors originally feared. However, recent Fed announcements — including

October 2017 ushers in shorter days and cooler weather, but the global bull market shows few signs of slowing down. The S&P 500 Index logged another gain last month, marking 6 consecutive monthly gains on a price basis and 11 in a row on a total