Economy
There was a bit of housing-related news out this week, and it wasn't particularly good. Housing starts for the month of July fell more than they were expected to. The National Association of Home Builders blamed high construction costs, elevated mortgage rates, and economic and geopolitical uncertainty for the negative sentiment among builders. The National Association of Realtors reported this week that pending home sales fell to the lowest level since January, attributing the softness to both mortgage rates and record high housing prices. If you were looking for a glimmer of good news, further upstream in data building permits were up 5% last month.
Markets
Despite a nice day for investors on Friday, the S&P 500 closed lower for the week, falling by 1.43% and snapping a 3-week win streak. The pullback was driven by rising Treasury bond rates. Despite the Treasury Department's efforts to calm investors' nerves, rates on longer bonds rose, reflecting concerns of rising inflation (particularly due to oil prices) and ballooning national debt (which crossed over the $40 trillion mark this week). Economic data can move the market anytime, but those moves can feel amplified between earnings seasons, when investors have fewer company-specific results and announcements to digest. We do still have one major earnings report on deck for Wednesday when we'll hear from Nvidia.
What We're Reading
- Let's Talk About Cash - Barry Ritholtz
- What a Run - Michael Antonelli
Have a great weekend.
Dogwood Wealth Management