Price Return Last Week
S&P 500 (0.6%) S&P Mid Cap (1.6%) Russell 2000 (2.6%)
MSCI EAFE (1.5%) MSCI EM +0.2%
10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.19% to 4.40%
Source: Refinitiv Eikon
Recent News
Core CPI – Nov: 0.3% (Reuters Poll Est. 0.3%) Oct: 0.3%
The month-over-month change in core inflation rose 0.3% in November. This was in-line with expectations and the same rate of increase as the previous three months. Goods prices increased 0.4% compared to the prior month with a flat reading. This was offset by rent prices increasing just 0.2%, representing the smallest gain since July 2021. Over the last twelve months, core inflation has risen 3.3%.
Source: Thomson Reuters
ECB Cuts Rates – The European Central Bank lowered interest rates on Thursday by 0.25%. This was the fourth time in 2024 that the central bank cut rates and it reduces their key deposit rate to 3.0%. ECB President Christine Lagarde noted that downside risk is now greater and there was “uncertainty…in abundance.”
Source: Thomson Reuters
UK Economy Contracts – Gross domestic product in Britain fell 0.1% month-over-month in October. This was the second consecutive month that Britain saw a decline in economic activity and the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Thomson Reuters
China 10-Year Below 2% - On the wake of announcements from China that they would implement “appropriately loose” monetary policy in 2025 and reports from Reuters that they would allow the Chinese yuan to weaken versus the dollar next year, Chinese bond yields have fallen significantly. They dropped below 2% at the beginning of December for the first time in over twenty years and closed the end of last week at 1.78%.
Source: CNBC.com, Thomson Reuters
Switzerland Time Bank – Switzerland officials have created an innovative new way to help care for elderly citizens. By creating a time bank, young people who volunteer their time to care for elderly citizens are able to “bank” their hours spent and accumulate time over their lives. Every hour spent volunteering earns you one coin. Later on, when volunteers become elderly and need assistance, they are able to use their time bank on assistance for themselves. Those that accumulate 10,000 coins can exchange them for a spot in a state-run care home and those that decide they don’t need assistance can gift them to friends and family.
Source: World Economic Forum
Upcoming Events
12/17 – Retail Sales
12/18 – Fed Meeting, Bank of Japan Meeting, Notable Earnings Reports: General Mills, Micron
12/19 – GDP Final Estimate, Existing Home Sales, Bank of England Meeting, Notable Earnings Reports: Accenture, Darden Restaurants, FedEx, Nike
12/20 – PCE, Consumer Sentiment
Source: Refinitiv Eikon
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