Market Memo

December 2023 – By Bob Veres

Most of the investing world is a bit weird about the Federal Open Market Committee meetings, which is where the nation’s central bank announces its latest interest rate policy.  The announcement concerns the overnight borrowing rate for banks that need short-term financing if they run (temporarily) short on liquidity.  The idea is that if the Fed raises or lowers this rate, then interest rates throughout the economy will bounce up or down accordingly, raising or lowering the cost of financing for America’s corporations and potentially leading to recession (and lower stock prices) or economic prosperity (and higher stock prices).

Planning Article

December 2023 – Contributed by Vantage Financial

2023 may not go down as the best year in human history, but it will be one for the books. To kick off the new year on a positive note, we’ve got some updates and topics to share that can hopefully contribute to a fantastic start in 2024!

Market Minute

December 2023 – By Bob Veres

It’s surprising that this isn’t getting more attention in the press, but the U.S. Commerce Department has reported that the American economy grew by a remarkable 5.2% annualized pace in this year’s third quarter.  Corporate profits were up 4.3% for the quarter, following a somewhat anemic 0.8% gain in the second quarter.  Consumer spending rose 3.6%, and the next report could top that, based on record-setting sales reported on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.