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Retail data were mixed last week. U.S. retail sales rose 0.3% in October and are now 5.7% higher than one year ago. But as Figure 1 shows, the increase was the smallest since the recovery began. Increased coronavirus cases in October likely pressured purchases lower and moved consumers onli …

Special Update A second COVID-19 vaccine announced very positive results in its initial trial. A biotechnology company announced Monday their COVID-19 vaccine was more than 94.5% effective. The study also showed there were few side effects observed in the vaccine trial. The effectiveness is …

Special Update The first COVID-19 vaccine to announce results reported very positive data early Monday morning. Two notable pharmaceutical and biotech companies announced on Monday their COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective. The study also showed there were no side effects observed …

The votes have been cast and now it’s a waiting game. Our country now faces days of a counting, recounting, accusations, potential lawsuits and a runoff election or two. Only then will we know the results of the 2020 election.

Last week, markets moved less on the recovery of today and more on the uncertainty of tomorrow. U.S. GDP increased 33.1% (see Figure 1) after a massively negative report last quarter. Strong growth in consumer spending provided the biggest push to the overall economy. Earnings also continue …

The lack of progress on a federal stimulus bill weighed on markets last week while economic and earnings data provided investors some good news. Initial unemployment claims finally dipped below 800,000. The improvement and adjustments to previous weeks’ estimates suggest the labor market is …