Bullish sentiment boosted prices across all the major asset classes last week, based on a set of exchange-traded funds. The clean sweep of gains marks the first time in six calendar weeks that every corner of global markets rallied, as of trading through Friday, March 15.
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Midwest rivers rise to record levels, forcing evacuations: USA Today
Fed likely to extend pause on rate hikes in Wed announcement: WSJ
Russia says it will comply with Opec’s production cut: CNBC
Consumer Sentiment Index for US rises for second month in March: MW
US business leaders worried about the next recession, consultancy reports: MW
US job openings rose to a new high of 7.6 million in January: CNBC
NY Fed Mfg Index indicates slow growth for bank’s region in March: MW
US industrial production’s 1-year trend eases to softest rise in 8 months in Feb:

● The Billionaire Boondoggle: How Our Politicians Let Corporations and Bigwigs Steal Our Money and Jobs
By Pat Garofalo
Summary via publisher (Thomas Dunne Books)
The first comprehensive look at how politicians let the entertainment industry bilk taxpayers, hijack public policy and hurt economic investment, starting and ending with Trump. From stadiums and movie productions to casinos and mega-malls to convention centers and hotels, cities and states have paid out billions of dollars in tax breaks, subsidies, and grants to the world’s corporate titans. They hope to boost their economies, create new and better jobs, and lure well-known events such as the Super Bowl–not to mention give their officials the chance to meet celebrities. That Big Entertainment drives bigger economies is a myth, however. Overwhelming evidence shows catering public policy to its promises results in a raw deal for the taxpaying public.
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Factor Timing Revisited: Alternative Risk Premia Allocation Based on Nowcasting and Valuation Signals
Olivier Blin (Unigestion), et al.
10 September 2018
Alternative risk premia are encountering growing interest from investors. The vast majority of the academic literature has been focusing on describing the alternative risk premia (typically, momentum, carry and value strategies) individually. In this article, we investigate the question of allocation across a diversified range of cross-asset alternative risk premia over the period 1990-2018. For this, we design an active (macro risk-based) allocation framework that notably aims to exploit alternative risk premia’s varying behavior in different macro regimes and their valuations over time. We perform backtests of the allocation strategy in an out-of-sample setting, shedding light on the significance of both sources of information.
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Shootings at two New Zealand mosques claim 49 lives: BBC
N. Korea is considering lifting ban on missile and nuclear tests: Reuters
Israel launches military attack on Gaza after rockets fired at Tel Aviv: USA Today
Senate rebukes Trump by voting against border emergency declaration: Reuters
Economists cut US growth estimates sharply in new survey: WSJ
New home sales in US fell 6.9% in January: CNBC
US import prices increased 0.6% in Feb, but fell 1.3% over past 12 months: MW
US jobless claims rose to 1-month high last week: MW

Bloomberg reports that “there are reasons to expect the current slowdown [in the global economy] will prove short-lived.” The same analysis may also apply for the US economy, according to The Capital Spectator’s business-cycle analytics.
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US grounds Boeing 737 Max and new deliveries of plane are frozen: Reuters
Senate votes to end US military support for Saudi-led war in Yemen: USA Today
UK Parliament rejects a no-deal Brexit: CBS
Trump says he’s in ‘no rush’ to complete US-China trade deal: CNBC
Is the worst of the global economic slowdown over? Bloomberg
Growth rate in China’s industrial sector fell to 17-year low in early 2019: Reuters
US construction spending rose in Jan–biggest gain in 9 months: Reuters
US durable goods order rose in Jan, posting third monthly gain: MW

The odds are virtually nil that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates through early 2020, according to Fed funds futures. Driving the market’s forecast: accumulating signs that the economy is slowing and inflation remains subdued. As long as this one-two punch remains is force, which seems likely based on recent data, the central bank’s recent run of policy tightening has likely ended and may even reverse course later in the year.
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UK rejects Brexit deal, leaving Britain in chaos ahead of EU departure: CNN
Boeing 737 MAX planes still fly in US as plane is grounded elsewhere: Reuters
China offers to assist Venezuela to end power blackout: Reuters
US small business optimism rose in Feb for first time in nearly 6mos: Axios
Consumer inflation ticks up in Feb–first increase in 4 months: CNBC
VIX Index, a measure of US stock mkt volatility, fell on Tues, near 5-month low:

Industrial companies remain the strongest-performing sector for the US stock market year to date, based on a set of exchange-traded funds. Although all the major equity sectors are posting gains so far in 2019, industrials are holding on to a first-place finish as of trading through yesterday’s close (Mar. 11).
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