The U.S. economy is slowing down. Nonfarm payroll numbers for June, released last Friday, were accompanied by a downward revision in the numbers for May and April. When combined with an increase in the unemployment rate, a deceleration in personal spending growth, a softening of the purchasing managers indices for the critical services sector, sluggish durables goods orders, and an abundance of stories about weaker pricing power in the hands of retailers . . . small wonder that the Atlanta Fed GDPNow real-time estimate of second-quarter economic growth has dropped from almost 4% in April to 1.5% on July 3. Last week, the S&P 500 kicked off the second half of 2024 with its best weekly performance since late April. The advance was driven by labor market data that has supported the case for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts; some dovish commentary from Fed Chair Powell, minutes of the central bank’s last monetary policy meeting; and the S&P 500 was helped by Tesla’s stock up over 25% during the last week and 40% over the last month. On the wealth planning front, we discuss estate planning for every decade of life.
Click Here to Read the July 8, 2024, Economic Commentary
Click Here to Read the July 8, 2024, Investment Commentary
Click Here to Read the July 8, 2024, Wealth Planning Commentary
