The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article For Small Cap Stocks, Look Past The Trump Trade. It is worth sharing the article’s premise and the potential pitfalls in the analysis as quite a few articles seem to be popping up recently touting small-cap stocks. Let’s start with the scatter plot below, courtesy of Fuery […]
When formulating its monthly employment data, the BLS includes an adjustment for the net number of new jobs coming from new businesses and those lost by companies that have shut down. This adjustment is logical, as neither new nor closing firms are included in their surveys. While the so-called birth death adjustment is rational, the […]
The newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed up by Elon Musk, is tasked with reducing government waste and increasing efficiency and productivity. The big question bond investors are keying on is how effectively DOGE can reduce the deficit. Tracking DOGE savings is now easy. As we share below, the US Debt Clock shows […]
Investors woke up Monday morning to a sea of red. On Friday, after the markets had closed for the weekend, President Trump announced a new series of tariffs levied against Mexico, Canada, and China. Moreover, he threatened that those tariffs could increase and that new tariffs would be announced for the Euro-region. Cryptocurrencies, technology, and […]
The media holds bond vigilantes out as do-gooders looking to force the government to be fiscally responsible. In reality, these vigilantes are traders who are short bonds, and use the fear of deficits and inflation to drive yields higher. While the term has been around for 25+ years, their recent success is unlike any past. […]
An investor reading Microsoft’s (MSFT) and Tesla’s (TSLA) earnings summaries on Wednesday night would likely anticipate that MSFT shares would trade higher and Tesla shares lower. At the opening of the market the following day, the opposite held. MSFT opened up 4% lower, while TSLA was 4% higher. Let’s summarize their respective earnings to see […]
As expected, the Federal Reserve put further rate cuts on hold. After cutting rates three times in the latter half of 2024 for a total of 1%, the Fed is taking a break. While the Fed is still forecasting that inflation will trend lower by year-end, it is concerned that the trend has been stalling […]
Personal consumption represents over two-thirds of economic activity. Therefore, consumers’ ability to spend, i.e., income, is vital to the economy. Taking it one more step, confidence in the security of our jobs and wages drives the marginal consumption behaviors of most citizens. With that, we share a chart that should worry the Fed. The chart […]
Bloomberg wrote a fascinating article showing that the speculative environment gripping crypto markets and some stocks has spread to the junkiest of junk bonds. Their article, Traders Asking “Why Not?” Rush Into Venezuela and Lebanon Bonds, speaks to “a massive rally in emerging market junk bonds.” They focus on debt from Venezuela and Lebanon in […]