The economy’s momentum weakened last month, according to today’s update of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). The slowdown isn’t surprising, given the monthly declines cited in several reports for October data—retail sales and industrial production, for instance. The question remains if Hurricane Sandy distorted the data? That’s a possibility, although it’s not clear how much we can blame on weather for last month’s deceleration. Meantime, with the fiscal cliff approaching, today’s CFNAI report will surely promote worries that the economy is headed for rough seas.
Daily Archives: November 26, 2012
Tactical ETF Review: 11.26.2012
If investors are worried about the threat from the fiscal cliff, it’s not obvious in the recent price trends for the major asset classes. Our ETF proxies for the primary slices of the world’s capital and commodity markets remain in the black for the year through November 23. For the month so far, only foreign developed-market bonds and REITs are suffering from the red ink disease, albeit in moderate doses, while the U.S. stock market overall is near the tipping point.