January 28, 2019 —Equity markets finished the holiday-shortened week relatively flat while Treasuries prices were up, particularly on the long-end of the curve. Driving markets were growing concerns over the strength of the global economy, offset by strong U.S. earnings announcements.

On Friday, President Trump announced a temporary deal to re-open the government. Even though the agreement is for only three weeks, this alleviates some uncertainty moving forward. Overseas, the International Monetary Fund reduced their forecast for global economic growth and China reported that its economy grew at its slowest pace since 1990. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi stated the Eurozone's outlook has shifted to the downside, further fueling uncertainty in the global economy.

In economic news, existing home sales fell 10.3% from a year ago. The decline in sales can be attributed to mortgage rates increasing and new tax regulations capping state and local deductions. Turning to earnings season, shares of IBM jumped by over 10% after projecting strong future growth from cloud computing and data analytics, and Procter & Gamble also reported strong results. By contrast, Freeport-McMoRan, a large copper miner, fell over 10% for the week on concerns over future demand and higher costs.