The All State staff earns 10 awards at Southeast Journalism Conference

Clarksville, TN – The All State, student newspaper at Austin Peay State University, earned two first place awards in Best News Editorial Artist/Illustrator and On-site Op-ed Writing and eight additional awards from the annual Southeast Journalism Conference during on Friday, February 16th, 2018.

[Read more]

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).

[Read more]

Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 13th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The economic data calendar was thin. December trade figures were roughly in line with expectations. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell in the mid-February estimate.

Stock market investors were encouraged by the prospect for tax cuts following comments by U.S. President Donald Trump. In contrast, the bond market, recognizing that the process for cutting taxes will be contentious and lengthy, is less fearful of a large boost to the federal budget deficit (hence, bond yields have backed down over the past month).

[Read more]

Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 8th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged, as expected, and tweaked the wording of the policy statement slightly. There were no solid clues as to the timing of the next increase in short-term interest rates, but officials noted the improvement in consumer and business sentiment and seemed a little more confident that inflation “will” increase to the 2% goal.

While January numbers are often suspect due to the magnitude of the seasonal adjustment, the economic data continued to paint a picture of the economy that is in good shape.

[Read more]

Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of January 15th, 2017

Clarksville, TN – The economic calendar was relatively thin. Small business optimism rose sharply in December.  Growth in retail sales was concentrated in autos and gasoline – mixed and generally flat otherwise (with unusual softness in food) – but it was still a relatively good quarter overall. 

Department store sales were weak, but that is a long-term trend (not necessarily a sign of consumer weakness). The PPI was largely in line with expectations, reflecting moderate pipeline inflationary pressures (consistent with further Fed rate hikes in the months ahead).

[Read more]