Friends

He’s going to fire him. I’m not going to fire him. I might find cause to fire him. The drama over whether the President will (or even can) fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell overshadowed a tame PPI number and some good earnings reports. For the record I’m pretty sure the markets would not like it if the President somehow fires the independent Fed Chair-especially the bond market. Ok, back to that PPI number which came in lighter than expected. Inflation on the wholesale level came in at 2.3%, lower than the 2.5% estimate and last month’s 2.7%. So, there was no inflation on the wholesale level in June-that’s good. But stocks rallied late in hopes that the President is backing off his threat to fire the Fed Chair.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 231 points to finish the day at 44,254. The S&P 500 was up 19 points to close at 6,263. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 52 points to close at 20,730. Gold was up $18 to trade at $3,354 per ounce, while oil was up $.08 to trade at $66.60 per barrel WTI.

Goldman Sachs led the way on the earnings front with a stellar report. The shares were all over the place, but the numbers were good. Share price reactions are going to continue to be interesting during this earnings season. And, of course, headlines seem to come at us on an hourly basis these days. Stay buckled up with your hands and feet safely inside the ride.

Have a nice evening everyone.