Price Return Last Week
S&P 500 +0.7% S&P Mid Cap +0.5% Russell 2000 +0.1%
MSCI EAFE +1.8% MSCI EM +1.0%
10 Yr US Treasury Rate – rose from 4.52% to 4.62%
Source: Refinitiv Eikon
Recent News
Bank Stress Test Revisions – The Federal Reserve announced that it was considering allowing banks to provide comments to models they use when the Fed conducts its annual “stress tests.” This would include allowing the banks to provide input to the hypothetical scenarios they use for the tests. The Fed noted that this adjustment was prompted by recent legal developments. Despite this acknowledgement from the Fed, major U.S. banks decided to proceed with a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve the following day claiming their practices do not follow proper administrative procedure.
Source: Thomson Reuters
Continuing Unemployment Claims – The number of people receiving unemployment insurance rose to 1.9 million last week. This represents the highest level since November 2021. The average duration of unemployment also increased to 24 weeks, the longest total since April 2022. While the labor market data has been weakening, we have been fortunate that the trends have been steady and we haven’t experienced a sharp deterioration in the job market thus far.
Source: Thomson Reuters
South Korea President Impeached Again – Less than a month after South Korean President Yoon was impeached over his declaration of martial law, South Korea’s parliament chose to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo. President Han’s impeachment was due to dissatisfaction with his unwillingness to appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court, with President Han claiming that he thought it exceeded his authority as acting President. The Korean won declined to 1,477 per dollar, a more than 15-year low for the currency of the fourth-largest Asian economy. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is now the acting President.
Source: Thomson Reuters
Let It Snew – Before the noun snow was changed to also be used as a verb, the Old English word sníwan was used as a verb instead. For past tense, the word snew was then used. Thus, it is deemed grammatically correct to say “It snew last night.” An example of the word snew being used can be found as far back as the 1400’s in Jean Froissart’s Chronicles, detailing the events of the Hundred Years’ War.
Source: Getty Conservation Research Foundation Museum, The Christian Science Monitor
Upcoming Events
12/30 – Chicago PMI
1/1 – New Year’s Day
1/3 – ISM Manufacturing PMI, Speaker of the House Vote
Source: Refinitiv Eikon