Midyear Outlook: The Fed & the U.S. Economy

Inflation is coming down and is close to the Fed's target rate, which sets up the potential for rate cuts by the Fed. At the same time, the economy has experienced a series of slowdowns with crosscurrents and bifurcations in the indicators and in the equities market. So what's in store for the rest of 2024?

In this episode, Kathy and Liz Ann discuss the broader macroeconomic outlook and central bank policy for the second half of the year. They cover topics such as inflation, Fed policy, the U.S. economy, the labor market, and the impact of debt and deficits. They also highlight the importance of factors and quality in the equity market and the potential for a broadening out of performance. The upcoming week's economic indicators and data releases are also discussed.

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The Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is a survey-based indicator of the economic health of the global manufacturing sector. The PMI index includes the major indicators of: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment.

JOLTS is the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey.

QCEW is the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

CLO is the Collateralized Loan Obligation market.

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