It was a happening week with lots of good earnings reports, but the market turned bullish early in the week after President Trump nominated pro-business Brett Kavanaugh to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Brett Kavanaugh is well known for his strong stance against excessive regulation that stifles small businesses, and Main Street certainly cheered his nomination as he will likely continue to hold similar views about business issues as Justice Kennedy.
Also, as the wholesale inflation rate came out the highest in over half a decade, the silver lining was that the unemployment rate increased last month. Otherwise, there is a good chance the Fed will consider hiking rates once again as the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rate has already climbed up to the target of 2.0% in May.
In the end, all other issues this week were eclipsed by the White House’s decision to impose additional $200 billion tariffs on Chinese imports, and China’s threat to retaliate dollar-for-dollar.
Be sure to check out our previous week’s edition here, in which investors worried that the U.S. just might quit the World Trade Organization (WTO).
