{"id":13098,"date":"2024-04-09T15:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T15:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/?p=13098"},"modified":"2024-04-09T15:13:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T15:13:02","slug":"getting-closer-to-2-inflation-u-s-sector-expands-and-an-update-in-the-u-s-housing-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/getting-closer-to-2-inflation-u-s-sector-expands-and-an-update-in-the-u-s-housing-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Closer To 2% Inflation, U.S. Sector Expands, And An Update In The U.S. Housing Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In today\u2019s Steady Investor, we look at key factors that we believe are currently impacting market volatility and what could be next such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Inflation gauge rose to 2.5% in February
\u2022 The U.S. services sector expands
\u2022 An update on the U.S. housing market<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting Closer to 2% Inflation<\/strong> \u2013 The consumer price index (CPI) measure is the most widely-known and cited inflation metric in the U.S. But it\u2019s arguably not the metric that matters the most. The Federal Reserve pays more attention to the personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is released by the Commerce Department and tends to get buried in the news cycle. If the PCE price index is the Fed\u2019s preferred inflation gauge, it should be the one investors watch most closely, in our view. Last Friday, the Commerce Department reported that the headline PCE price index rose 2.5% year-over-year in February, which is well within reach of the Fed\u2019s long-run 2% target. Month-over-month, the PCE price index rose 0.3%, which was slightly better-than-expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PCE Price Index is Running Closer to the Fed\u2019s 2% Target Than CPI<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis2<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Retiring in 2024? Get Our Retiree Checklist!<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investing in today\u2019s market can challenging, especially for those who are trying to build their retirement portfolio. One way to ease your worries is to make thorough plans. So today, we\u2019re offering our free retiree checklist2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This checklist covers four essential investment topics for new retirees, with detailed helpful information on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The current and expected future costs of healthcare in retirement
\u2022 Strategies for retirement investment income in today\u2019s current low-rate environment
\u2022 The key tax rules that every retiree must know
\u2022 The most important way to protect your retirement assets from market volatility
\u2022 Be prepared with this guide to the most important retirement financial and investment issues<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get our free checklist today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download Zacks Guide, Looking to Retire Soon2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell seemed pleased overall with the data, saying that \u201cit\u2019s good to see something coming in in-line with expectations.\u201d Powell reiterated that the Fed at this stage is not necessarily looking for further improvements in the inflation data, but rather more evidence that it is anchored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Services Sector Continued Expanding in March <\/strong>\u2013 The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported the 15th straight month of expansion for the U.S. services sector, with the Services PMI registering at 51.4%. This print was slightly lower than February\u2019s, but a key detractor from expansion was a 3.5% decline in supplier delivery times, to 45.4%. This piece of the data should arguably be viewed as a positive, as it underscores rising efficiency in supply chains. On the flip side, the Business Activity and New Orders components of Services PMI\u2014which can be viewed as leading indicators for the economy\u2014remain firmly in expansion territory, and the production gauge rose to a very solid 57.4%. The Employment Index component registered at 48.5%, marking the third contraction in four months. This data point, though slightly weak, provides evidence of labor market softening\u2014which factors as a positive for the outlook on interest rates. Manufacturing, which contributes a substantially smaller share to overall U.S. GDP, also expanded in March for the first time in 16 months, with New Orders shifting back into expansion territory at 51.4%.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is a U.S. Housing Rebound Underway? <\/strong>2023 was tough sledding for the U.S. housing market, with sales falling to their lowest levels in almost three decades. Low inventory, high prices, and soaring mortgage rates all contributed to the pressure. 2024 looks different out of the gates. For the first time in over two years, home sales have increased month-over-month for two consecutive months (January and February), with sales of existing homes jumping 9.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million. Economists had expected a 1.3% decline<\/em>. Mortgage rates have eased off highs and inventories are on the rise particularly from newly built homes, moving in the direction of rebalancing supply and demand. The imbalance remains in place for now, however, as the national median existing-home price rose 5.7% year-over-year in February to $384,000.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan to Retire Soon?<\/strong> \u2013 If you\u2019ve been planning to retire for a while, now is the perfect time to review your investment plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retirement marks the end of one life stage, but also the beginning of another\u2014full of new adventures and opportunities. To guide you through this new phase, we\u2019re offering our retiree checklist6<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, which provides helpful information about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The current and expected future costs of healthcare in retirement
\u2022 Strategies for retirement investment income in today\u2019s current low-rate environment
\u2022 The key tax rules that every retiree must know
\u2022 The most important way to protect your retirement assets from market volatility
\u2022 Be prepared with this guide to the most important retirement financial and investment issues<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to understand your retirement options, click the link below to get your copy today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s Steady Investor, we take a look at current market trends, such as inflation, the services sector, and an update on the housing market <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-private-client-group","category-steady-investors-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13098"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13101,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098\/revisions\/13101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}