Clarksville Chamber Power Breakfast keynote speaker will be Atlanta FED President Raphael Bostic

Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce Power Breakfest will feature Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President, Raphael Bostic, as keynote speaker on July 18th, 2019.

Brought to you by the Austin Peay State University College of Business, President Bostic will discuss the national economy, the Federal Reserve’s responsibilities and his observations of the varying economic realities facing people in the Sixth district. Audience Q&A will follow.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of June 7th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The May Employment Report was generally disappointing. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 138,000 (median forecast: +185,000), while figures for March and April were revised a net 66,000 lower.

Retail payrolls fell for the fourth consecutive month (down more than 80,000 since January, which is more than the total number of coal miners). The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%, a 16-year low, partly reflecting a sharp drop in the rate for young adults (which could reflect a seasonal adjustment issue, although the trend is clearly lower).

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Frazier Allen: Domestic Stocks Hit All-Time Highs in August

Clarksville, TN – As summer comes to a close, the markets – as represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 – reached new highs during August, putting all three major indices in uncharted territory.

Steady economic growth, rising consumer spending and improving corporate earnings coming in better than expected were all key factors in helping drive the market.

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Frazier Allen: July 2016 Investment Strategy Quarterly Recap

Clarksville, TN – Financial market headwinds for the next six to twelve months include political uncertainty in the U.S., a strengthening U.S. dollar, significant uncertainty surrounding Britain’s recent referendum on leaving the European Union (“Brexit”), and earnings growth.

Tailwinds include low oil prices, an improving labor market, and a low interest-rate environment.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of April 10th, 2016

Clarksville, TN – The minutes of the March 15th-16th FOMC meeting showed that most officials did not see much change in their growth outlooks since December, due partly to expectations of a more gradual policy path (recall that most officials had expected four 25-basis-point hikes in 2016, but now see two).

“Several” meeting participants “argued for proceeding cautiously in reducing policy accommodation,” noting the downside risks from the rest of the world and the possibility that inflation expectations could fall.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of April 3rd, 2016

Clarksville, TN – In her speech, Fed Chair Yellen indicated that “given the risks, I consider it appropriate for the [FOMC] to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy.” This dovish stance was taken well by financial market participants.

Yellen emphasized that the Fed’s projections (such as the dots in the dot plot) are expectations and “not a plan written in stone.” Fed policy decisions will remain data-dependent, but Yellen stressed that the central bank has a limited ability to respond to downside shocks to the economy.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of March 13th, 2016

Clarksville, TN – The economic calendar was thin. Jobless claims fell more than expected (not too unusual), while the four-week average remained very low (about as low as it can go given the normal labor market frictions). Small business optimism fell in February. The Quarterly Services Survey pointed to an upward revision to the estimate of consumer spending growth for 4Q15.

The European Central Bank surprised the markets by doing much more than expected (lowering interest rates, expanding QE, and making other efforts to boost growth).

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of March 6th, 2016

Clarksville, TN – Nonfarm payrolls rose more than expected in February, while figures for the two previous months were revised higher. At 228,000, the three-month average has remained strong. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.9%, but labor force participation continued to pick up and the employment/population ratio is trending higher.

Hours fell, likely reflecting bad weather (weakness in hours was concentrated in mining, which includes energy exploration, and construction). Average hourly earnings fell 0.1% (following a 0.5% rise in January), bringing the year-over-year gain down to 2.2% (from 2.5%), but the three-month average was up nearly 2.5% y/y.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of November 1st, 2015

Clarksville, TN – The Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged, but the tone of the policy statement was unexpectedly hawkish. The FOMC removed the phrase about downside risks from the global economy, but said that it would monitor global economic and financial developments.

It also specifically talked about the decision framework for “the next meeting,” clearly putting a December 16th rate hike back in play.

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Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of October 28th, 2015

Clarksville, TN – The economic calendar was light. Residential construction figures were mixed, largely reflecting the usual noise in the multi-family sector data (single-family starts and permits were little changed and still up strongly from a year ago). Existing home sales rebounded from a surprise drop in August. The four-week average for jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 1973.

Earnings reports were mixed, but investors appeared to be encouraged by the view that economic growth will continue, but not so fast that the Federal Reserve rushes to take away the punch bowl.

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