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<p>On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose at an 8.5% annual rate in July, which was lower than economist expectations of 8.7% and down from the 9.1% reading in June. We discussed the likelihood of lower inflation readings in last month’s issue of <em>InvesTech Research</em>, yet we also noted that the persistence and stickiness of inflation will likely hold prices high enough to keep the Federal Reserve on a tightening course.&nbsp; Finally, Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan rebounded from its historically low level in this month’s preliminary report, driven largely by lower gas prices and an initial bounce in the Future Expectations component.</p>
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<p>There continues to be incremental improvement in the technical landscape, however to this point there is a notable absence of our bullish confirmation signals. The S&amp;P 500 retook its 4,175 resistance level mentioned in last week’s hotline update, and now the challenge will be sustaining above this level given our short-term Pressure Factor reached an overbought reading of +54 on Wednesday.</p>
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<p>&nbsp;There are no changes to the Model Fund Portfolio, which remains defensively positioned with a 44% net invested allocation.</p>
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