With just a few graphs, we can visualize how economic headwinds are about to get stiffer. Additionally, the graphs help us understand why President Biden has such low economic polling numbers, even among Democrats, despite such a strong economy. There are four predominant means by which consumers can spend. Income is typically the largest and […]
In June, Apple is expected to announce its progress on AI development, including Project ACDC, which stands for Apple Chips in Data Center. In a partnership with chip maker Taiwan Semiconductors, Apple hopes to make ACDC a competitor in what some are calling the AI arms race. Accordingly, ACDC will face tough competition from companies […]
Personal consumption accounts for two-thirds of economic activity. Therefore, the means by which consumers can spend is essential for forecasting economic growth. The San Francisco Fed just released an article warning that a significant source of spending since the pandemic is no longer available. Per their article, Pandemic Savings Are Gone: What’s Next for U.S. […]
Last week’s Employment Cost Index (ECI) shook the stock and bond markets as investors worried that higher wages would keep inflation sticky, thus forcing the Fed to push off rate cuts. However, Friday’s BLS report provided optimism for stock and bond investors as it aligned with other wage data that did not show a jump […]
Starbucks latest earnings report sends the message that consumers may finally be retrenching after a few years of spending above their means. Cheap luxury items are low in price by definition and include items that we do not necessarily need but are nice to have. When consumers have confidence in the economy and their jobs, […]
As was widely expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged. Jerome Powell alluded that it’s much more likely the next Fed move will be rate cuts, not an increase in interest rates. Given the November elections and the internal pressure on the Fed to remain independent, it now seems likely that barring a sharp upturn […]
On Saturday, April 20, Bitcoin will be halving. Halving is an essential part of what makes Bitcoin unique. The halving process means that bitcoin miners will receive half as many bitcoins for verifying blockchain transactions. Currently, they receive 6.25 bitcoin for every 210,000 network blocks they verify. After April 20, they will only get 3.125. […]
In our article Is Toyota The Next Tesla, we discuss recent trends in the automobile industry. In particular, EV sales growth has been declining as hybrid vehicles become more popular, and concerns specific to EVs are growing. With more competitors in the EV market and new hybrid models hitting the market, Tesla’s market share of […]
From a macroeconomic perspective, Friday’s bank earnings reports provide two important pieces of information. As we detail below, their profit margins are shrinking, and their economic outlook remains favorable. JPM, C, and WFC reported paying depositors higher interest rates to retain their accounts. The consequence is a compression of their net interest income (NII), which […]