by Connor Darrell CFA, Assistant Vice President – Head of Investments
Markets were largely stagnant last week as investors continued to wait patiently for further developments in the U.S./China trade negotiations. On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that the Chinese wish to reach a “phase one” deal with the United States that is based upon “mutual respect and understanding,” further reiterating that while he does not want the trade war to escalate further, he would push back on U.S. demands when deemed necessary. As the rhetoric from Washington continues to suggest that a phase one deal is “very close,” the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a 90-day extension for U.S. companies to continue doing business with China’s Huawei for the third time. Bond yields moved modestly lower during the week as the lack of material development in the trade discussions seemed to outweigh some positive economic signals, which included evidence of stabilization in global manufacturing activity.

Happy Thanksgiving
In honor of one of America’s favorite holidays, we wanted to share some fun facts (courtesy of JP Morgan Asset Management and WalletHub.com) about the Thanksgiving season:

• This year, the average cost of a 10-person Thanksgiving dinner is $48.91, only $0.01 higher than last year. Why such a small increase? As a result of ample Turkey supply, the price of a 16-lb. turkey decreased by $0.91 compared to last year and is expected to cost about $20.80.
• Each year, American spend an estimated $550 million on Thanksgiving turkeys. At a price of $1.30/pound, that’s over 423 million pounds of Turkey.
• In 2018, Americans spent over $3.7 billion while shopping online during Thanksgiving Day.
• Over 54 million Americans are expected to travel for this year’s holiday (the most since 2005). 89.4% of those travelers will drive to their destinations.
• The average shopper spends $313 over the five-day thanksgiving shopping period (Thanksgiving Day thru Cyber Monday).
• The NFL’s three-game Thanksgiving schedule pulled in nearly 79 million combined viewers last year.
• The Thanksgiving football tradition dates back to 1876, when Yale defeated Princeton in a game played in Hoboken, NJ.
• In a survey of what Americans are most thankful for, the most popular responses were Family (88%), Health (77%), and Personal Freedom (72%), with Wealth (32%) being one of the least popular choices.