The S&P 500 reached an all-time high yesterday, but the trading session’s gains were kept in check as investors braced for a busy week including a flurry of corporate earnings reports, economic data and an announcement from the Federal Reserve regarding interest rates.

Shares of Google’s parent company Alphabet reported earnings that came up short of expectations as all of its major sales categories performed slightly worse than projected in the first quarter, and yet another big fine out of Europe dinged the company’s earnings.  Google’s parent company reported first-quarter earnings of $6.66 billion, or $9.50 a share, on revenue of $29.48 billion.  Shares of the stock traded lower on the news.

Consumer spending surged in March, adding to the sense the economy is on strong footing, while core inflation weakened.  Spending jumped 0.9% in March after a 0.1% gain in February. This was the largest monthly gain in almost ten years.  The closely followed core inflation rate was flat in March, knocking the yearly rate down to 1.6% from 1.7%. This is the lowest rate since September 2017. Personal incomes, meanwhile, increased 0.1% in March and remained on a moderate growth path.

One of the nation’s largest homebuilders, D.R. Horton, is doing business in Central Oregon for the first time since 2011.  The Texas-based company bought 49 lots in the Stone Creek neighborhood in southeast Bend and has several homes under construction.  D.R. Horton’s return is noteworthy because the homebuilding scene in Central Oregon is dominated by local companies, though two of them — Hayden Homes and Pahlisch Homes — work in multiple states. 

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones