US companies added a relatively soft 135,000 workers in September, a hefty slide from the 228,000 advance in the previous month, according to this morning’s release of the ADP Employment Report.   Looking at the last data point in a vacuum suggests there’s trouble brewing for the economy. But the year-over-year trend suggests otherwise, which is encouraging. All the more so when you consider that the temporary effects of two hurricanes probably played a role in last month’s slowdown in hiring.
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Bismark Bismarck may have been misquoted when he reportedly said “laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” Whoever is the source, the observation applies to estimating expected returns. The end result is forever in high demand, but the details for generating the numbers can get messy.
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US auto sales in September: best month so far in 2017: Detroit News
Major US stock indexes climb further into record territory: MarketWatch
Warren Buffett and BlackRock’s Larry Fink criticize Trump’s tax plan: Reuters
Spain’s Catalonia problem continues to deteriorate: Reuters
GDPNow estimate for Q3 GDP growth picks up to 2.7%: Atlanta Fed
Wall Street economists expect Q3 GDP growth of 2.6%: CNBC
Is the high CAPE level for US stocks a reason to worry? Maybe not: Bloomberg