The big news over the weekend was that the U.S., Canada and Mexico agreed on a revised trade agreement. This occurred just ahead of Sunday’s deadline to have the agreement signed by Mexico’s outgoing President before his term ends in two months. In the short term, the revised trade pact should give the market some reassurance that trade fears may not be as great as expected. Given the robust pace of U.S. growth recently, any positive news on the trade front should continue to support the gradual increase in interest rates that we have seen this year.
The biggest economic news of the week is the release of the September jobs report on Friday. I expect the pace of hiring to remain solid. Current projections are for 185,000 new jobs added in September and for the unemployment rate to decline to 3.8%. Economic data and earnings should also provide an upward push to equity prices in the U.S.
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