Author Archive: Jeremy Parkinson
What Could Go Wrong With The Economic Forecast In 2018?
My economic forecast for 2018 is moderately positive, as I explained in recent articles detailing predictions for consumer spending, housing, and business capital spending. But things could go wrong, even so far as a recession. Anyone who is absolutely convinced that we cannot avoid a recession this year is far too overconfident in his or her ability to […]
British Pound Looks Set To Keep Rallying
After a great performance in 2017, the good times for the British pound look set to continue. While manufacturing and construction PMIs announced earlier this week missed expectations, services PMIs beat optimistic expectations. Given the forward-looking nature of PMI surveys, upcoming GDP growth should remain strong. As services dominate the UK’s exports, this news was […]
U.S. Businesses Create 250,000 Jobs In December
Private businesses in the US created 250,000 in December, according to the ADP Research Institute report. The highest in nine months and beat the 190,000 estimated by economists. “The job market ended the year strongly,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in the statement. Moody’s produces the figures […]
Walgreens Boots Tops Q1 Earnings, Revenues Estimates
Are you a frequent visitor to retail drugstores? Then you must have come across at least one of the more than 13,200 drugstores operated by Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA – Free Report). This Illinois-based company is the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Currently, Walgreens Boots has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but that could change following […]
Dow Opens Above 25K As VIX Does Something It Has Never Done Before
After closing at a record low last night below 9, VIX is trading with an 8 handle this morning (amid somewhat chaotic trading). VIX has never traded below 9 two days in a row… ever. As we noted yesterday, it’s only traded below 9.0 on seven days since the index was created 28 years ago […]
Jobless Claims Back To 250K
Jobless claims rose for the third straight week, rising to 250K from last week’s level of 247K. That was 10K above the consensus forecast of 240K and the highest weekly print since 11/10/17. Even with three straight weeks of increases, though, jobless claims are nowhere near 300K, which is a level they have been below for […]
Cintas Is A Sleeper Stock Worth Investing In
There is a good chance you have heard of Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) before. They are primarily a uniform company with a steady base of customers and a long history of growth. But as many investors eyes have turned to the sexier technology stocks, the smart investors have paid attention to boring stocks like Cintas. In this […]
3 Strong Buy Fidelity Mutual Funds To Invest In
Fidelity Investments is considered as one of the leaders in the financial services industry with presence in eight countries of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, and more than 400 research professionals. The company carries out operations in the United States through 10 regional offices and over 180 Investor Centers. The company provides investment advice, […]
December 2017 Job Cuts Lowest Year Since 1990
from Challenger Gray and Christmas U.S.-based employers announced 32,423 job cuts in the last month of the year, bringing the year-end total to 418,770. That is the lowest annual total since 1990*, when 316,047 cuts were recorded. Said John Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. The retail pivot that caused […]
Weekly Unemployment Claims: Up 5K, Worse Than Forecast
Here is the opening statement from the Department of Labor: In the week ending December 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 250,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 245,000 to 247,000. The 4-week moving average was 241,750, […]
