Eddy Elfenbein

(This is the free version of CWS Market Review. If you like what you see, then please sign up for the premium newsletter for $20 per month or $200 for the whole year. If you sign up today, you can see our two reports, “Your Handy Guide to Stock Orders” and “How Not to Get Screwed on Your Mortgage.”) The stock markets got roughed up today. The S&P 500 closed below 7,700 for the first time in two weeks, and the Nasdaq was down nearly twice as much as the S&P 500.

“If we get policy right—and we will—the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past.” – Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh I hope so, Kev. I really do. But I have to confess, I’m a doubter. We’ve now gone 64 months with inflation above the Fed’s target of 2%. Earlier this week, the government said that inflation was at its lowest monthly point in six years. We had actual deflation in June. Thanks to the plunge in oil prices, consumer prices fell by 0.4%, while the core rate was flat.

(This is the free version of CWS Market Review. If you like what you see, then please sign up for the premium newsletter for $20 per month or $200 for the whole year. If you sign up today, you can see our two reports, “Your Handy Guide to Stock Orders” and “How Not to Get Screwed on Your Mortgage.”) We’re at an odd moment for the financial markets. Not much is going on right now, but soon, a lot will be going on.