INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
Industrial production rose 0.3% in December, the
Federal Reserve reported Friday....For the fourth quarter as a
whole, production moved up at a 3.8% annual rate, down from a 4.7% rate in the
third quarter.” Story at…
MICHIGAN SENTIMENT (Reuters)
“U.S. consumer sentiment tumbled in early January to its
lowest level since President Donald Trump was elected more than two years ago
as an ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government and financial market
volatility stoked fears of a sharp deceleration in economic growth.” Story at…
START BEST SINCE 1987 (MarketWatch)
“Small-cap stocks, as gauged by the Russell 2000 index,
are off to their best start to any year in the past 32 years, boasting a gain
of 8.8% over the past 12 trading sessions, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
That’s outpacing the large-cap S&P 500 the U.S. stock-market
benchmark, which is up 5.2% over the same stretch — a performance, however,
that likewise is the strongest 12-day start to a calendar year in 32 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 4.5% over the
same period, while the Nasdaq Composite Index has logged a 6.8% advance.
...Is it a reason to cheer? Perhaps it would be if not for
the fact that the gains are the strongest since 1987, when the Russell popped
11.87% over the first 12 trading days and the S&P rallied 11.22%. 1987 is a
year that lives in infamy on Wall Street.
...On Oct. 19, 1987, the Dow sank 22.6% in a single session
That’s some of the economic news for the day. I’ll have
to post analysis in a day or two.
