Trump’s Chief Economic Advisor Resigns

The US stock market is feeling the weight of President Trump’s Chief Economic Advisor resigning.  Apparently, Gary Cohn and the White House had a bitter dispute over the proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which ultimately led to his departure.  As a registered Democrat, Cohn was considered one of the top political moderates with influence over the Trump Administration.  With Europe now considering adding tariffs to certain U.S. goods that are imported into their region, fears of a global trade war are heating up.  This is clearly not good news for many U.S. companies, which is why the stock market is reaction negatively to the news.

According to ADP, the job market was hotter than expected in the month of February.  The report showed that 235,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy.  This strong number exceeded expectations of 200,000, and points to the likelihood of a higher than expected number from the more important Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) when they release their estimate on Friday.  The distribution of jobs was healthy, with most major segments posting strong gains.  Clearly, the labor market remains strong, which will continue to be a headwind for mortgage interest rates.

We will maintain our locking bias.