Brian Stewart

So you're starting to see, even if it's individual companies or sectors, starting to see kind of the ripple effect of budget cuts that are being put into place, or at least the proposed budget cuts. And then in general, you can kind of, if we take it back to a more macro level and look at the economic data, people are starting to get worried about the economy in general.

So you're starting to see, even if it's individual companies or sectors, starting to see kind of the ripple effect of budget cuts that are being put into place, or at least the proposed budget cuts. And then in general, you can kind of, if we take it back to a more macro level and look at the economic data, people are starting to get worried about the economy in general.

We saw initial jobless claims jump to a multi-month high in the most recent data. And so you're starting to see worries about layoffs. This is critical ahead of next week's jobs data, which is a little backward looking. But still, I think people are going to be looking at that really closely to see if the cut in public jobs is starting to have a broader economic impact.

We saw initial jobless claims jump to a multi-month high in the most recent data. And so you're starting to see worries about layoffs. This is critical ahead of next week's jobs data, which is a little backward looking. But still, I think people are going to be looking at that really closely to see if the cut in public jobs is starting to have a broader economic impact.

We saw initial jobless claims jump to a multi-month high in the most recent data. And so you're starting to see worries about layoffs. This is critical ahead of next week's jobs data, which is a little backward looking. But still, I think people are going to be looking at that really closely to see if the cut in public jobs is starting to have a broader economic impact.

I think they're starting to lower a little bit. The job market has been one of the bright spots. As we've been fighting inflation, the fact that the job market has held up as well as it has, has sort of given the Fed permission to kind of take the inflation fight more seriously than it could otherwise if it also had to worry about the economy.

I think they're starting to lower a little bit. The job market has been one of the bright spots. As we've been fighting inflation, the fact that the job market has held up as well as it has, has sort of given the Fed permission to kind of take the inflation fight more seriously than it could otherwise if it also had to worry about the economy.

I think they're starting to lower a little bit. The job market has been one of the bright spots. As we've been fighting inflation, the fact that the job market has held up as well as it has, has sort of given the Fed permission to kind of take the inflation fight more seriously than it could otherwise if it also had to worry about the economy.

But if you have an economy that's starting to show some cracks, it puts the Fed in a real bind because if it cuts rates to protect the economy, then that could unleash the inflation goblin. But if you fight inflation, you might undermine any attempt to jumpstart the economy. So you end up in a situation where the Fed is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But if you have an economy that's starting to show some cracks, it puts the Fed in a real bind because if it cuts rates to protect the economy, then that could unleash the inflation goblin. But if you fight inflation, you might undermine any attempt to jumpstart the economy. So you end up in a situation where the Fed is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But if you have an economy that's starting to show some cracks, it puts the Fed in a real bind because if it cuts rates to protect the economy, then that could unleash the inflation goblin. But if you fight inflation, you might undermine any attempt to jumpstart the economy. So you end up in a situation where the Fed is sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Troublesome data point that affected the markets this week is the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 98.3 in February. This was down from a little over 105 in January. That's the biggest monthly fall since August of 2021. Anytime you're saying biggest whatever since the COVID shutdowns, you're probably in sort of frightening territory. So one of the...

Troublesome data point that affected the markets this week is the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 98.3 in February. This was down from a little over 105 in January. That's the biggest monthly fall since August of 2021. Anytime you're saying biggest whatever since the COVID shutdowns, you're probably in sort of frightening territory. So one of the...

Troublesome data point that affected the markets this week is the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 98.3 in February. This was down from a little over 105 in January. That's the biggest monthly fall since August of 2021. Anytime you're saying biggest whatever since the COVID shutdowns, you're probably in sort of frightening territory. So one of the...

Sub-indexes in there is the expectation index dropped 9.3 points to 72.9. That's below the 80 mark. That's usually seen as a recession red flag. So you see consumers in general are just starting to look around and see high inflation, see an economy that doesn't seem to be... be as solid as it once was, and they're starting to get worried.

Sub-indexes in there is the expectation index dropped 9.3 points to 72.9. That's below the 80 mark. That's usually seen as a recession red flag. So you see consumers in general are just starting to look around and see high inflation, see an economy that doesn't seem to be... be as solid as it once was, and they're starting to get worried.

Sub-indexes in there is the expectation index dropped 9.3 points to 72.9. That's below the 80 mark. That's usually seen as a recession red flag. So you see consumers in general are just starting to look around and see high inflation, see an economy that doesn't seem to be... be as solid as it once was, and they're starting to get worried.

Next week, there's a lot of retailers on the earnings docket. So in terms of getting a vibe about what consumers are thinking, I think those earnings reports are going to be important. One of the key ones is Costco. They're coming out Thursday. The company is recently off a 52-week high. It's gotten a lot of run in the fact that it's a low-price company. competitor.

Next week, there's a lot of retailers on the earnings docket. So in terms of getting a vibe about what consumers are thinking, I think those earnings reports are going to be important. One of the key ones is Costco. They're coming out Thursday. The company is recently off a 52-week high. It's gotten a lot of run in the fact that it's a low-price company. competitor.

Next week, there's a lot of retailers on the earnings docket. So in terms of getting a vibe about what consumers are thinking, I think those earnings reports are going to be important. One of the key ones is Costco. They're coming out Thursday. The company is recently off a 52-week high. It's gotten a lot of run in the fact that it's a low-price company. competitor.