Is the U.S. economy finally cooling? While it will take several months of data to answer that question, one key piece of the puzzle comes with the closely watched employment report. Here with more on this is our Chief Equity Strategist and Economist, John Blank.

1. We had an employment report out recently in earlyJune. Did that help answer this question?

2. We’ll have the next employment report come out on Friday July 5^th. Do you expect that to provide any further clarity on this question?

3. We’ve seen a lot of economic data recently. Does that support a cooling scenario?

4. The main economic event though has investors looking ahead to tomorrow’s PCE report for clues about possible Federal Reserve rate cuts. Are you hopeful for a rate cut this year yet?

5. We saw consumer spending soften a bit in April and retail sales increased less than expected in May. Does that indicate lackluster GDP growth going forward?

6. You view the housing market as a key economic indicator. First we had a lack of inventory. But now published data shows home listings staring to rise but the home buyers are slow to show up. Is higher for longer rates choking off demand? If so, how concerning is that?

7. Where then are the bright spots in the macro economic landscape currently?

8. Let’s explore three ‘hot’ info tech sector stocks. There’s GE Aerospace (GE Quick QuoteGE - Free Report) , Arista Networks (ANET Quick QuoteANET - Free Report) and Tokyo Electron (TOELY Quick QuoteTOELY - Free Report) .

Our Chief Equity Strategist & Economist, John Blank, on the U.S. economy. With John, I’m Terry Ruffolo.