Yet another holiday-shortened week due to Good Friday.
Of interest will be the release by the Fed of its preferred measure of inflation, which is the core personal-consumer expenditures data Friday.
The markets will be closed so there will be three days to digest any unexpected results.
It should be noted that last week, in spite of Friday, was the largest weekly gain since December.
We have moved back above 5200 and some are projecting 600 for the S&P 500 by the end of the year.
The truth is that earnings are driving this market and can move it further.
That is not of course to say there is nothing but clear sailing ahead of this market.
China announced that Intel and AMD chips will be eliminated from government purchases.
This is much the same as what happened to Apple.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this is where we are when we institute trade barriers.
The problem in dealing with a country like China is that they don’t trade fairly no matter what you do.
That is the problem with looking for the Golden Goose, it could turn out to be a tin turkey.
The latest budget plan from the administration includes tax increases.
Of course it is supposed to only impact the rich, but the devil is in the details.
Shock of shocks, there were no real details.
We are at such a divide in this country over the correct path, and the extreme ends of both parties are getting all the attention.
Speaking of problems trying to be resolved, the chairman and two other executives of Boeing will be gone by the end of the year.
Someone had to answer for the never-ending number of events with the company’s planes of late.
They were not fired but chose to step down.
That is how they’re portraying the situation.
Boeing is never going away and it can hardly be replaced.
The alternative is to turn the aviation industry over to a foreign entity which seems unlikely.
I hope, though I know it won’t happen, there will be a true accountability of how the deficit grew to its current level.
It started with Bush and the Iraqi war, continued spending in the Obama administration, more spending under Trump and the spending by the Biden administration to overcome the impact of COVID.
It can all be justified and vilified by both sides but that is not a solution.
With earnings mostly out of the way, it will be curious how the market moves left to its own means.
The volatility due to the trading in options will be put to a test.
This market seems more attached to the news than politicians.
We are moving into that period of the year that usually is stunted by boredom, but it does seem we might be in for a few surprises.