As U.S. stocks reach new highs, investors are wondering whether to expect a pull-back in the markets. In our first article, Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Financial Strategist for Charles Schwab & Co. explains why she remains cautiously optimistic. The International Energy Agency says the North American increase in oil production is setting off “supply shocks” in the global markets. Jake Rudnitsky of Bloomberg examines global trends in oil production and how production in the United States is influencing the market. We close this week with a look at the numbers investors follow to anticipate economic momentum. Recent indexes show that the U.S. consumer remains the driving force in the global economy.
Tenuous Times? – U.S. stocks continue to post new highs, yet commodities have struggled and Treasury yields remain low, albeit up from recent near-record lows. Although not the standard playbook, market analysts remain optimistic while acknowledging that an equity pullback can occur at any time. http://advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/schwab_051313.php
Rising U.S. Oil Production “Shocks” Global Markets, IEA Says– The oil-production boom in the U.S. is relieving tight supplies across the world, according to the International Energy Agency. The U.S. will account for nearly half of global oil production by 2018, the agency said. “North America has set off a supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “The good news is that this is helping to ease a market that was relatively tight for several years.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/u-s-supply-shock-to-push-non-opec-oil-growth-by-1-9-iea-says.html
List Of Market-Moving Data Expands, But U.S. Figures Still Dominate– The list of figures and other information that moves the financial markets has expanded to include Chinese economic data, information on central bank intervention and the crisis in Europe. However, U.S. jobs numbers and purchasing manager indexes continue to dominate the market-moving list. “In general terms there’s no bigger number than the U.S. non-farm payrolls,” said Henk Potts, a cross-market strategist at Barclays in London. “The U.S. consumer is the biggest driving force in the global economy and will continue to be so for some … time.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/us-markets-data-idUSBRE94D0F120130514
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John R. Day, Bill Ennis and Stephanie Davidson