Diane, how would you describe uh this. Is it abnormal. Is it funky.Are we just in a waiting period of transition. What What do you say is going on here. >> Well, it certainly is an early chill for the holiday season, but I think you know consumers are still spending, which is ironic.The core retail sales, which goes into the GDP calculation for the retail sales data, actually was up 0.9%. So much better than that headline figure suggested. and data for September and August were revised up.So, we came into t ...

Core Viewpoint - The Federal Reserve has resumed its rate-cutting cycle, which is expected to create new investment opportunities in the stock market, particularly in small and mid-cap stocks, cyclical stocks, and sectors like technology and consumer discretionary [1][6]. Group 1: Bank of America - Investment focus is on small and mid-cap stocks, which are showing signs of recovery amid optimism regarding Fed cuts and potential profit rebounds [3]. - Many small and mid-cap stocks are still undervalued, trading at historically low valuations, indicating potential for growth [3][4]. - An optimistic technical setup is emerging for small and mid-cap indices, suggesting a broader support for these stocks [4]. Group 2: Goldman Sachs - Investment recommendations include technology, consumer discretionary, high-growth stocks, and companies with high floating-rate debt [7]. - Historically, high-growth stocks have outperformed the market during Fed rate-cutting cycles, especially when the economy continues to grow [8]. - Companies with high floating-rate debt have outperformed the S&P 500 by nine percentage points since August, benefiting from lower borrowing costs as rates decrease [8]. Group 3: JPMorgan - Investment strategies focus on emerging markets and cyclical stocks, which tend to outperform defensive stocks shortly after the Fed resumes rate cuts [10]. - Emerging market stocks have historically performed better during Fed rate cuts, partly due to the depreciation of the US dollar and easing monetary policies from other central banks [11].