Up Week For Markets As Crude Rallies, Fed Presents Moderate Tone

Market Breadth: 17 of the Dow 30 stocks rose this week, vs. 22 last week. 61% of the S&P 500 rose this week, vs. 67% last week.

Economic News:
“A broad cross-section of U.S. businesses has a message for the US administration: new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports will force Americans to pay more for items they use throughout their daily lives, from cradles to coffins. Unlike previous rounds of U.S. tariffs, which sought to shield consumers by targeting Chinese industrial machinery, electronic components and other intermediate goods, thousands of consumer products could be directly hit with tariffs by late September.

The $200 billion list targets Chinese seafood, furniture and lighting products, tires, chemicals, plastics, bicycles and car seats for babies. “USTR’s proposed tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports dramatically expands the harm to American consumers, workers, businesses, and the economy,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in written testimony for the hearing.” (Reuters)

“Power generation from coal dropped nearly 6% from January to May this year compared to the same time period in 2017, according to US government stats. Coal’s biggest rivals are all gaining ground. Natural gas power generation is up 17% this year, while solar has soared 31% and wind has increased 9%.

In 2016, natural gas overtook coal for the first time as America’s source of power generation. Coal fell to an all-time low of 30% of the electricity market last year, down from roughly half a decade ago and nearly 60% three decades ago, according to government statistics. Renewable energy has made inroads thanks to technological advancements and a wave of investment. Solar and wind are increasingly becoming competitive with fossil fuels — a trend that’s expected to continue.” (CNN)