U.S. and World News
- More Brexit uncertainty lies ahead after U.K. lawmakers failed to pass an alternative to the current deal and Theresa May said that she would like to reach across the aisle to try and negotiate with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for a softer Brexit deal. This is something that would anger her conservative lawmakers who are against remaining in a customs union with the EU and want a decisive split. On Wednesday, lawmakers voted to pass a draft to prevent a no-deal Brexit in a 313-312 vote. It is uncertain whether the European Union will grant the U.K. another extension and an emergency summit is scheduled for next Wednesday. European Council President Donald Tusk has proposed a flexible 12-month extension to leave the European Union and Theresa May responded by asking for a shorter extension until June 30th.
President Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House yesterday as the two sides are reportedly coming close to reaching a deal. Reports have also indicated that the United States will keep tariffs on China until a deal is reached. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said that the two sides have reached a new consensus on a trade agreement, meanwhile, President Trump stated that no meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place until a deal is reached and that he could see a deal being made within four weeks.
Markets
- Stocks surged this week. The S&P 500 rose 2.09% and closed at 2,893. The Dow Jones gained 1.95% and closed at 26,425. Year to date, the S&P is up 15.99% and the Dow Jones is up 13.97%.
- Yields rebounded sharply this week. The 5 year and 10 year U.S. Treasury Notes are yielding 2.31% and 2.50%, respectively.
- The spot price of WTI Crude Oil jumped much higher this week. Prices rose 5.19% and closed at $63.26 per barrel. Year to date, Oil prices are up 39.31%.
- The spot price of Gold lost 0.05% this week and closed at $11,291.76 per ounce. Year to date, Gold prices are up 0.72%.
Economic Data
- Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 202,000 for the week. The four-week moving average of claims fell by 4,000 to 214,000. Claims fell by 2,000 in New Jersey.
- Retail sales fell by 0.2% in February versus expectations of an increase of 0.2%
- Retail sales core/control fell by 0.2% versus expectations for an increase of 0.3%
- The ISM manufacturing index rose by 1.1 points to 55.3 in March versus expectations for a reading of 54.5
- Construction spending rose 1.0% in February versus expectations for a decline of 0.2%
- New orders for durable goods fell by 1.6% in February versus expectations for a decline of 1.8%
- Private sector employment rose by 129k in March versus expectations for a rise of 175k
- ISM non-manufacturing fell by 3.6 points to 56.1 in March versus expectations for a reading of 58.0
- Nonfarm payrolls rose by 196k in March versus expectations for a rise of 177k
- The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, as expected
- Average hourly earnings rose by 0.1% versus expectations for a rise of 0.3%
Fact of the Week
- The S&P 500 gained 13.6% in the first quarter. The average 1st quarter return for the index over the last 25 years has been 1.7%, and 9.6% for the entire year over the last 50 years. 88% of stocks in the index ended the first quarter higher than its 2018 year end price. (Source: BTN Research)
Please contact a member of the Wealth Management Department if you have any questions about this information.
Rich Gartelmann CFP® – (630) 844-5730 – rgartelmann@oldsecond.com
Steve Meves, CFA® – (630) 801-2217 – smeves@oldsecond.com
Brad Johnson CFA®, CFP® – (630) 906-5545 bjohnson@oldsecond.com
Jacqueline Runnberg CFP® – (630) 966-2462 jrunnberg@oldsecond.com
Ed Gorenz – (630) 906-5467 ejgorenz@oldsecond.com
Mike Demski – (630) 966-2430 mdemski@oldsecond.com
Mike Cava – (630) 281-4522 mcava@oldsecond.com
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Two years ago today, the United Kingdom asked the European Union for a divorce and today is the day that Brexit was finally supposed to transpire, however, many questions remain about how the whole thing will shake out. The new deadline is now two weeks away and lawmakers are left scrambling to pass a deal to avoid the “no-deal” Brexit, an outcome that no one wants. Theresa May also announced this week that she would resign if the deal was approved in a last ditch effort to save her deal, but was answered by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party promising to continue to reject her deal. The withdrawal agreement that was voted on today was rejected, as expected, meaning the hard deadline for Brexit is April 12th. Following the vote today, European Council President Donald Tusk announced a summit for April 10th, raising more questions about the possibility of another extension.
After the French national debates over government policy ended last weekend, 10,000 “Yellow Vest” protestors took to the streets for the 18th weekend, bringing violence and anger. Nearly 100 businesses on the Champs-Elysees were vandalized or torched. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated in late February that the protests have shaved 0.2% off of economic growth. Starting this Saturday, “Yellow Vest” protestors will be banned in the hardest hit neighborhoods and France is forcing its banks to raise capital buffers to protect against any economic downturns.
On Sunday, an Ethiopian Airlines flight transporting 157 people on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed during takeoff, killing all passengers on board. The incident occurred less than five months after another Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia killing 189 people and investigators have drawn similarities between the two crashes, especially since both took place during the take-off phase. Immediately following the crash, several countries grounded the aircraft and placed a ban on the 737 MAX 8 from flying into and out of the country. On Wednesday, Boeing announced that they would temporarily suspend the entire fleet “out of an abundance of caution and in order to reassure the flying public of the aircraft’s safety”. Boeing is expected to perform a software update on the entire fleet in mid-April.
British Prime Minister Theresa May traveled to Brussels again this week in a last-ditch effort to gain support from European Union leaders so that Britain can leave independent of European Union rules. Earlier this week Theresa May announced a plan that would provide $1.6 billion in funding to boost economic growth in the more indigent areas of the U.K., some say this is an attempt to buy votes and to pick up any leftover potential supporters that may remain. Theresa May has a chance of getting her Brexit deal passed if the Irish border impasse is resolved, however, this remains a significant impasse. It is predicted that there will be an extension and that Theresa May will have a deal passed by next month. The Prime Minister spoke today, stating that there is a chance that Britain may not leave the European Union at all.
Earlier this week, President Trump extended the March 1st trade truce deadline between the United States and China, citing “substantial trade progress”. If the deadline had not been extended, the tariff rate on $200 billion in Chinese products would have been increased to 25% from 15%. Chinese equities soared over 5% on the news into bull market territory. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stated that it’s too early to draw conclusions on a trade deal between the two countries and that even if a deal was made, the United States would need to maintain the threat of tariffs.
With one week left until the March 1st deadline for the temporary trade truce between the United States and China, negotiators have drawn up memorandums of understanding on forced technology transfer, cyber theft, intellectual property rights, services, currency, agriculture and non-tariff barriers to trade. This is the most progress that has been made on trade since the 7-month trade negotiations have begun. President Trump stated earlier this week that he would consider pushing back the March 1st deadline and that it is not a “magical date”. Today, President Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the Oval Office where they will attempt to come to a deal. Some sources have said today that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could have a summit in Mar-a-Lago in late March, raising expectations for an extended deadline.
The White house has reached a tentative budget agreement that includes a $1.38 billion border security deal that would prevent another government shutdown. The compromise detailed funds for 55 new miles of barriers along the border in Texas and passed the House 300 to 128 and the Senate 83 to 16. After signing the deal, President Trump hosted a televised announcement in the Rose Garden where he stated that he would sign a declaration of a national emergency at the border. This would give the government access to billions of dollars to fund the construction of the full border wall.
Western nations continue to push for the resignation of socialist leader Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela as hundreds of thousands of protestors blanketed the streets of Caracas last weekend. The protestors are in support of self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido. The United States has announced that military intervention in Venezuela is an option and have placed extreme sanctions on the country and the state owned oil firm PDVSA, whose 2026 maturity debt is now trading at 23.75 cents on the dollar. The new sanctions have crippled the liquidity on Venezuelan sovereign debt and has caused JPMorgan to consider removing the securities from its popular emerging-market bond indexes. This action would force the largest holders of Venezuelan sovereign debt to sell in a market where it is unclear if there is any buying interest for the securities.
President Trump is optimistic that the world’s two largest economies could reach “the biggest deal ever made” and confirmed that a U.S. delegation will visit China in mid-February for a new round of trade talks. The feeling is mutual. China’s trade delegation said the latest negotiations with the U.S. in Washington made “important progress” and focused on three key themes – “trade, structural issues and enforcement.”