Last Week
- China Makes Goodwill Gesture on Trade –The U.S. and China trade negotiations continued last week with positive news. In a gesture of goodwill (and also extensive need), China increased its purchases of U.S. farm products.
- U.S. Jobs Rebound After Dismal February -About 196,000 U.S. jobs were added in March, multiple times the poor February showing, according to the jobs report on Friday.
- Prime Minister May Seeks Another Brexit Extension –With the April 12 Brexit deadline approaching, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May reached out to the European Union last Friday looking for another Brexit extension.
This Week
- JP Morgan, Wells Fargo to report Earnings – JP Morgan and Wells Fargo out of the financials sector will kick off first quarter earnings on Friday.
- Inflation May Jump –Likely because of energy prices, economist surveys show substantial upticks in inflation, including a potential 1.8% year-over-year increase the U.S. headline Consumer Price Index and a 2.3% rise in China.
- Investors Look for Chinese Trade Data to Improve -The Lunar New Year may have contributed to large declines in imports and exports last February, and investors will look forward to improvement trade in March.