All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US stocks posted their first down week since January on a decline in oil prices. Oil fell below $50 to $48.49 a barrel and dropped 9.1% for the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and the Dow fell 0.5% for the week. Internationally, Japan rose 0.7%, while Europe was off 0.5% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury reached its highest level this year rising to 2.58% driven by expectations of the Fed hiking the Fed funds rate at its March meeting. Article
Job growth maintained its steady pace with 235,000 jobs added topping expectations. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.7%. Average earnings rose to 2.8% from a year earlier. The strong report provides additional support for the Fed to make an interest rate hike at their next meeting. Article
The ECB said they will not reduce the bond purchase program they have in place or cut it short despite recent positive economic news from the country bloc. Draghi did state that it’s unlikely they will need to continue past the end of this year.
South Korean authorities are bringing bribery and corruption charges against the de facto leader of Samsung.
GM sold its Opel unit to France’s Peugeot.
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