We hope the Thanksgiving holiday was a wonderful time for you and your loved ones. There’s usually plenty of food, football, and shopping. While Americans love to snatch up deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, did you know there’s another shopping event that is larger than these two days combined?
Singles’ Day, a day of festivity for people who are single, is celebrated on 11/11 because it is the date with the most number “1’s” in it. On this day, young singles, particularly in China, organize parties and perform karaoke to meet new friends or find a date.
The first Singles’ Day in 2009 generated approximately $8 million in sales. Now there are more sales made online on Singles’ Day than any other day, and 2016 sales hit over $15 billion!
In more serious news, Jerome Powell was appointed to succeed Janet Yellen as the Fed Chair. This was a non-event for the market, as many expect that he will continue Yellen’s plan for gradual moves on raising interest rates and quantitative tightening.
While some were hoping that tax reform would be passed by Thanksgiving, we’ll need to wait a bit longer. The House of Representatives passed their tax bill on 11/16/17, and it’s expected that the Senate will pass its version of the bill by today (12/1/17). After that occurs, the two bills will need to be reconciled. This is where the real work will happen and when we’ll be able to get an idea of the impact that this will have on businesses and individuals.
The spread between the 10-year Treasury and 2-year Treasury yield continued to tighten in November. This measure is used to gauge the expectations for what interest rates will be in the future and also the health of the economy. A widening gap usually implies that investors think the U.S. economy is expanding, while a narrowing spread suggests a weakening economic outlook and a dimming view of prospects and inflation. This is just one of the factors that we’re keeping a close eye on heading towards the end of the year.
We wish you a wonderful December and a very Merry Christmas. We’re honored and grateful to serve you in 2017!
| Index | November 2017 | YTD 2017 |
| S&P 500 Composite (Large Cap) | 3.07% | 20.49% |
| Russell 2000 (Small Cap) | 2.88% | 15.11% |
| MSCI World Ex-Us | 1.01% | 22.01% |
| Barclays US Aggregate Bond | -0.13% | 3.07% |
