Monday Morning Meeting Notes (09/25/2023)

General Info:

• As expected, the Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained the fed funds rate at a target range of 5.25-5.50%
• The Bank of England (BOE) and Bank of Japan (BOJ) both kept their monetary policy rates steady
• Government shutdown looms as we approach the October 1^st deadline for Congress to pass spending bills
• The effects of even a full-government shutdown are often short and reversible (back-pay), so they may cause short-term volatility but have a limited impact on financial markets in the long-run
• Amazon plans to introduce an ad-supported tier to its streaming service early next year
• Customers can pay an extra $2.99/month (in addition to the $14.99/month or $139/year Prime membership) to keep their TV and movie experience ad-free
• If customers don’t choose to pay the additional $2.99/month, they’ll be automatically enrolled in the new ad-supported tier
• Fun Fact: 80% of the flowers in the Australian rainforests are not found anywhere else in the world

Monday 09/25:

• Paris Fashion Week begins (my invite must’ve gotten lost in the mail)

Tuesday 09/26:

• MillerKnoll and Costco report earnings
• U.S. new home sales for August
• U.S. Conference Board consumer confidence for September

Wednesday 09/27:

• U.S. durable goods orders for August
• Bank of Japan releases the minutes from its July policy meeting

Thursday 09/28:

• Nike and Accenture PLC report earnings
• U.S. initial jobless claims and continuing claims data
• Third reading of Q2 2023 U.S. GDP
• Eurozone economic confidence and consumer confidence data for September

Friday 09/29:

• U.S. personal income and spending data for August, including personal consumption expenditures (PCE)
• PCE is expected to have increased 0.5% month-over-month and 3.5% year-over-year
• Core PCE, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to have increased 0.2% month-over-month and 3.9% year-over-year (vs. last month’s reading of 0.2% and 4.2%, respectively)
• U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment for September
• China Caixin Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI data for September
• Japan unemployment, industrial production, and retail sales data for August
• Final reading of Q2 2023 U.K. GDP
• Eurozone releases preliminary inflation data via the consumer price index (CPI) for September
• China’s “Golden Week” holiday begins and runs through October 8^th