Economic indicators

Tracey Manzi, senior investment strategist at Raymond James, talks with Chip Barnett about the fixed income markets today and how munis and Treasuries are doing. She says the number one issue clients are asking about is inflation. (20 minutes)

Florida led the nation in payroll growth in July, Wells Fargo said in a Friday report, which noted most of the upturn was in the healthcare and professional and the scientific and technical services sectors while leisure and hospitality shed jobs.

Refinitiv Lipper reported $278.559 million of inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Wednesday, led by exchange-traded funds.

Economists remain guarded about the island's economic future.

Eric Merlis, managing director and co-head of global markets at Citizens Bank, talks with Chip Barnett about the economy and financial markets and what the Federal Reserve might do. He also discusses possible near- and long-term economic scenarios. (15 minutes)

Municipal bond mutual fund outflows continued as Refinitiv Lipper reported investors pulled $136.174 million from the funds for the week ending Wednesday following $855.719 million of outflows the week prior.

The May economic activity index showed an increase.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said the state unemployment rate in May was steady at 2.6% for the fifth straight month, the lowest among the 10 largest states in the nation.

While "munis are set up for better performance, perhaps modest single-digit returns, the near-term outlook for fund flows will make for a challenging read," Oppenheimer's Jeff Lipton said.

Ellis Phifer, managing director and senior strategist in the fixed income research department at Raymond James, talks with Chip Barnett about the state of the bond markets. (Taped Feb. 16; 15 minutes)