I can’t believe that it’s been a month since the last Jobs Report, which comes out again this Friday. As such, there is not much in the way of financial news that will move markets until the end of the week. The Case Shiller Index shows the year-over-year home appreciation rate at 4.7%; no market reaction. Consumer Confidence comes in higher than the 96 expected at a 103; crickets are chirping on the trading floors of Wall Street. Why? Because the Fed has reiterated that they are watching the employment sector as a gauge for economic growth and thereupon building a basis for increasing (or maintaining at 0.25%) the Cost of Fund yield and the Fed Funds Rate (still at 0.0%).
Speaking of the Fed, New York Bank President William Dudley said yesterday that the FOMC is likely to raise rates in October or December (of this year?). And when has Dudley Do-Right ever failed to save the day?
