The US economic profile for August is still largely a mystery, but today’s update on the ISM Manufacturing Index offers an early clue for thinking that last month will remain firmly in the growth camp. The composite value for this widely followed benchmark inched higher last month to 55.7, the highest in more than two years. Although the gain surprised many analysts, my econometric modeling left room for thinking that we could see another decent report, as last week’s ISM preview noted. Surprising or not, today’s ISM news implies that the upbeat macro trend in July will roll on in August once all the numbers are published.
Daily Archives: September 3, 2013
Major Asset Classes | August 2013 | Performance Review
August was a rough month for the major asset classes, with one key exception: commodities. The DJ-UBS Commodity Index popped 3.4% last month. Otherwise, red ink was the dominant theme. In fact, positive performance has become scarce on a year-to-date basis as well. US stocks are still bucking the trend, however, with a strong 17% rise in 2013 through the end of last month, based on the Russell 3000. Meanwhile, the Global Market Index (GMI), a markets-weighted, unmanaged mix of all the major asset classes, retreated 1.6% in August, which trimmed its year-to-date gain to a middling 4.9%.