• Domestic equities trade off on the week
• Hurricane relief passed in Washington with strings attached
• Domestic bonds and gold continue to rally
• Relatively quiet on the earnings and economic front next week

Domestic equity markets were down slightly for the week in lackluster trading. Markets were preoccupied with the aftermath of hurricane Harvey and the anticipation of hurricane Irma. Congress passed and the President signed into law a $15+ billion aid package for the two hurricanes tied to extending the government’s funding and suspending its debt limit until early December. The major equity indices domestically remain in a trading range and while up since mid-year, have not advanced meaningfully.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and continued worries over North Korea’s nuclear threat helped domestic bonds rally once again this week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond is approaching 2%. While we have commented previously on domestic lackluster growth and very low inflation, the financial media has increasingly noted the apparent lack of inflation globally and its ultimate impact on interest rates. Time will tell but with the coming economic disruptions from Harvey and Irma economic data in the short term may become more muddied adding uncertainty to the markets.

On the economic front, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August is released on Wednesday; the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August is released Thursday. Retail Sales for August is released Friday.

Few major companies release quarterly earnings next week:

Wednesday – Cracker Barrel

Thursday –  Oracle

Indices for the week and YTD are as follows:

S & P 500 down .61% for the week; YTD index return is 10.01%

NASDAQ Composite down 1.17% for the week; YTD index return is 18.38%

Dow Jones Industrial Average down .86% for the week; YTD index return is 10.40%

Benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield stands at 2.06% - down once again for the week

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Chris McGee heads Caldwell’s investment committee, which draws on a team of experienced in-house professionals and carefully chosen outside analysts to make decisions for client portfolios.

A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst(CAIA), McGee had previously been senior investment adviser and senior vice president at PNC Wealth Management in Sarasota for nearly a decade. Prior to that he was portfolio manager for five years with U.S. Trust (formerly Bank of America) in Sarasota. Before relocating here, he had served as vice president, capital management, for Wachovia Bank in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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About Caldwell Trust Company

Caldwell Trust Company is an independent trust company with offices in Venice and Sarasota, Florida. Established in 1993, the firm currently has nearly $1 billion dollars in assets under management for clients throughout the United States. The company offers a full range of fiduciary services to individuals including services as trustee, custodian, investment adviser, financial manager and personal representative. Additionally, Caldwell manages 401(k) and 403(b) qualified retirement plans for employers.