The S&P 500 and NASDAQ both posted the best January in 30 years. We start a new month today. (CNBC) 
 
Euro-area gross domestic product (GDP) rose just 0.2% during the fourth quarter, or 1.2% year over year, with Italy falling into recession and Germany, coming very close. Though in line with economists' consensus expectations, tepid GDP growth to end 2018 and soft January data suggests the European Central Bank's GDP growth forecast for 2019 of 1.7% is a reach. 
 
China's manufacturing sector shrank in January for the second straight month. The official China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.5. The better news came from the services sector, where the 54.7 reading for January is solidly expansionary.
 
Slow start to earnings season. Earnings growth for the S&P 500 Index is tracking to 14.5%. Estimates for 2019 have fallen by 2% so far, in line with historical averages, and should end the season in the 5% range. 
 
Chicagoans were seeking comfort food amid the freezing weather. Orders for deep-dish pizza in Chicago more than doubled during the polar vortex, which has blasted the Midwest with -66 degree wind chills. (Marketwatch) 
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Troy Reinhart.