Companies in the US added a moderate 170,000 employees to their ranks in July (seasonally adjusted), according to this morning’s update from the US Labor Department. The gain was well below June’s upwardly revised 234,000 increase but the latest rise represents a middling increase vs. recent history. Looking through the monthly noise paints a brighter picture by suggesting that the labor market’s expansion is ongoing and steady.
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Does ESG Matter for Asset Allocation?
Joachim Klement (Fidante Partners)
July 12, 2018
The integration of ESG [environmental, social and governance] factors into the investment process is increasingly becoming mainstream for institutional investors. However, investors struggle with how to incorporate ESG criteria into their top-down asset allocation decisions.
In this report we show how ESG criteria can be systematically and consistently integrated into the asset allocation process. Our approach can be used for almost any multi-asset portfolio without materially reducing return expectations or increasing portfolio risk.
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U.S. Sec. of State: N. Korea’s efforts to denuclearize fall short of pledge: Reuters
Analysts are upbeat about today’s employment report for July: MarketWatch
Eurozone Composite PMI: economic growth slowed at start of Q3: IHS Markit
Apple’s market value crosses $1 trillion mark: USA Today
The rise of giant companies dominates US economy: NY Times
Bank of England lifted interest rates to 0.75%, highest since 2009: BBC
Jobless claims in US up slightly but still near record low: Reuters
US job cuts fell to the lowest level of the year in July: CG&S
Factory orders in US up for second month in June: CNBC
These exporting areas of world economy at highest risk for climate change: Axios

The expected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) edged higher in July, inching up to an annualized 4.9% — slightly above the previous month’s estimate. The projected return over the “risk-free” rate is a long-run estimate for GMI, an unmanaged market-value-weighted portfolio that holds all the major asset classes.
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Iran set to conduct provocative military exercises in Persian Gulf: CNN
Turkey’s markets tumble after US imposes sanctions: Bloomberg
Fidelity to launch first set of zero-fee index funds: MarketWatch
Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday: NY Times
Trade tensions, labor shortages weigh on US ISM Mfg Index in July: Reuters
US Mfg PMI slips to 5-month low in July: IHS Markit 
Construction spending in US dropped 1.1% in June: MarketWatch
ADP: US private-sector jobs up +1.86% in July vs. year ago, a 2-year high: CNBC

The US stock market topped the performance list for the major asset classes in July. The gain marked the fourth straight monthly advance and the strongest since January.
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Facebook finds ongoing effort to meddle in 2018 US elections: Reuters
Turkey is ready to retaliate over threat of US sanctions: The Hill
Fed is considering a pause to interest rate hikes: Bloomberg
Trump may further tighten tariffs on China in negotiating tactic: Reuters
Wages and benefits for US workers increased at fastest rate in a decade in Q2: MW
US home prices increased at well above inflation rate in May: HousingWire
Chicago PMI advances to a six-month high in July: Chicago PMI
Annual growth of US consumer spending at four-year high of 5.1% in June: BEA

The sharp tumble in technology stocks in recent days has yielded this year’s leading sector performance to consumer discretionary, based on a set of exchange-traded funds. Shares of consumer discretionary firms have also fallen in recent days, but the setback has been relatively mild compared with tech.
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US spy satellites find new N. Korean missile activity: Reuters
Will Trump follow through on his gov’t shutdown threat? Probably not: Bloomberg
Trump administration considers bypassing Congress for new tax cut: NY Times
Factories moving out of China over trade-war tensions: Forbes
US pending home sales up in June, first gain in 3 months: Reuters
Robust expansion in Texas factory activity continued in July: Dallas Fed
Fed funds futures: no rate change expected for Aug 1 FOMC meeting: CME

Equities and fixed-income securities in emerging markets posted solid gains last week, based on a set of exchange-traded funds. Stocks in this corner of global markets posted the highest weekly gain for the major asset classes through Friday July 27 while bonds in emerging markets delivered the third-best return.
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