
3Q18 Capital Market Review
Make no mistake; the US economy is doing well. The third estimate of Second Quarter GDP growth came in at 4.2% compared to 3.0% for Second Quarter 2017 and the latest estimate for Third Quarter GDP growth from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is 4.2%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, changes in total nonfarm payroll in the past three months were 134,000, 270,000 and 165,000, respectively, an average of 189,667 in-line with the average of 199,417 for the 12 months prior. With the Index of Small Business Optimism from the National Federation of Independent Business hitting an all-time high of 108.8 in August, is it any wonder that risk assets, at least in the US, are setting