Author: 1st Discount Brokerage

#PositiveNews Trump or Obama? 201,000 new hires joined the U.S. workforce in August, the 95th consecutive month of job gains. From Septemeber 2010 until today the economy has added 18,914,000 workers; the labor force has grown from 130 million to 149 million. According to the BEA, per capita output is close to $60k per person,

#PositiveNews Q2-2018 Productivity increased at a 2.9% annual rate, the highest growth rate since Q2-2015. The two most important criteria for economic growth, in my opinion, are employment expansion and productivity. Productivity growth, at 2.9%, stands well above its 1.1% five-year average. Productivity growth measures the average worker’s economic contribution; the higher the productivity the

#PositiveNews Since the great financial crises ended in June 2009, the U.S. economy has added 17,890,000 jobs. In today’s initial unemployment claims report,  218,000 workers filed for unemployment income, this is considerably lower than the >245,000 weekly filers at the beginning of the year.  And, the trend of folks claiming insurance benefits has been on

How does your present situation compare to the average American household? Each housing unit comprises 2.5 people, 1.3 wage earners, and 1.9 vehicles. 62% of U.S. residents own their homes, with 44% of those homeowners 100% mortgage free. 38% of all households are renters. Females own 53% of all housing units, according to the BLS:

Market observers are sure to keep a close eye on the economy at large, specifically the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, rightfully so. History has shown that economic growth, corporate profitability, and stock prices have paralleled rather nicely from an investors standpoint since the end of WWII, as illustrated in the following chart. In