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The University of Michigan’s preliminary July reading came in at 54.4, up from a final June figure of 49.5 and well above the 51.0 consensus, the highest level since February and the second consecutive monthly gain following May’s 44.8, an all time low in a series that runs back to

Please find the next blog in our monthly series that provides a snapshot of the markets and the state of the economy. Economic Overview Market Returns Asset Class Valuations – Rebalancing Rationale Key Risk Factors We Are Watching Disclaimers: The views expressed herein are those of Asset Consulting Group (ACG).

Wednesday delivered one of the fuller Fed communication days of the year, and the message from the central bank was anything but unified. New York Fed President John Williams told business leaders that he sees encouraging signs inflation has peaked, projecting the headline rate falls to around 3.25 percent by

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 2.1 points in June to 97.4, closing in on its 52 year average of 98.0 and blowing past the 95.7 consensus forecast economists had penciled in. That is a sharp reversal from May’s reading of 95.3, which had marked the lowest level for

Yesterday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) release for June provided a welcome sign of relief, as headline inflation declined to 3.5% year over year, down from 4.2% in May and below expectations of 3.8%. This marked the largest one-month drop in annual inflation since April 2020 and suggests a meaningful shift

Overview The private credit market is encountering its first real stress after a prolonged period of rapid growth since the Great Financial Crisis. A series of high-profile defaults over the past 18 months coupled with a software selloff driven by artificial intelligence fears, and elevated investor redemption requests from private

Earnings strength was the primary driver of the S&P 500’s returns in the first half of 2026, with AI‑linked technology earnings doing most of the heavy lifting. Framing the first half of 2026 The S&P 500 finished the first half of 2026 up roughly 10%, marking one of its stronger

The Federal Reserve released the minutes from its June 16 to 17 meeting today, offering the first real window into how Kevin Warsh is running the committee as chairman. The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, the fourth straight hold, and the vote was unanimous. But the

The U.S. economy added 57,000 nonfarm payrolls in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, well short of the roughly 115,000 economists expected, while the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in May. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent on the month and held at 3.5 percent

The ISM Manufacturing PMI registered 53.3 percent in June, down 0.7 percentage point from May’s 54.0 reading, according to the Institute for Supply Management. That marks the sixth consecutive month of sector expansion and the 20th straight month that the reading has stayed above the 47.5 percent threshold ISM uses