Last Friday’s US jobs report of only 118,000 new private sector jobs was the worst reading in three years. This means the Fed was right to leave rates unchanged on its policy decision from September 17th. People now realize Fed policy and our economic conditions are consistent. This clarity reboots the market and is staging its recovery course.
During the six week period in August and September, the stock market dropped sharply due to a weakening economy and confusion about the direction of the Federal Reserve policy. The market was also disturbed by deteriorating economic conditions in China but this concern was secondary to our own troubles.
Accompanying the concerns about our economy was the swirling confusion about the Fed’s decision on interest rates. Some people thought the Fed should raise interest rates. Others felt the Fed should stand pat. During this debate, investors flew into frenzy at the prospects of the Fed raising interest rates and the markets declined.
When the Fed decided to keep rates unchanged three weeks ago, confusion overwhelmed the markets as frightened investors fled during the ensuing policy debate.
It turns out Fed policy was spot on correct. The recent jobs report gives credence to the Fed’s decision to leave rates unchanged. The Fed needs to keep rates low to accommodate our moribund economy.
The poor jobs report rebooted the stock market and expert consensus agrees the Fed got it right. Now, we have a world operating as it should. This means we have a friendly Fed providing a boost to a struggling economy. Consequently, the markets are recovering from the mess we have been in.
We have been anticipating these buying opportunities since the Fed announcement. During this period, we traded Google, Under Armor, Amazon, and Amgen for profits. We continue to hold our position in Accenture. Most recently, we have added Walgreens, Federal Express, Nike, Workday, Union Pacific, and Salesforce.com.
Posted 10-5-15
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