On Tuesday, we published Fed Rate Cuts – A Signal To Sell Stocks And Buy Bonds? The article presents a historical context for what investors can expect when the Fed cuts rates. Unlike the bullish sentiment prevailing around rate cuts, historical reality has not been so friendly to equity investors. So what can we expect? […]
Goldman Sachs has been vocal over the last week or two, making a good case for the Fed to cut rates as soon as the July 31st FOMC meeting. Goldman Sachs strategist Jan Hitzius was quoted as follows: While September remains our baseline, we see a solid rationale for already cutting in July. If the […]
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey (UM) unexpectedly fell sharply a month ago after steadily improving. The report aligned with recent consumer surveys, retail sales data, and revenues from retail-oriented companies. Last Friday, the latest UM survey further confirmed a downshift in consumers’ sentiment. Let’s start with some perspective on the latest data. The […]
Coal miners used to bring canaries into the mines to protect themselves from harmful gases. The canary will keel over if the gas levels increase, giving the miners time to exit before meeting the same fate. In the same vein, no pun intended, there is a corporate bond credit spread that can serve as an […]
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.1% last month, following 0.0% the prior month and expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core prices rose 0.1%, a tenth below last month’s reading and the consensus forecast. Year-over-year inflation is down to 3.0%. The better-than-expected inflation data further affirms the disinflation trend may be back on track. The […]
The Fed’s balance sheet peaked at $9 billion in April 2022. Today, after two years of Quantitative Tightening (QT), it has fallen to $7.2 trillion. When the Fed embarked on QT, its goal was to “normalize” its balance sheet. At the time, the St. Louis Fed claimed the purpose of QT was: “This policy, termed […]
Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified to Congress yesterday and updated them with the Fed’s latest views on the economy, inflation, and monetary policy. The Fed has kept rates at current levels in part because the labor market was tight. Chair Powell’s concern was that higher wages due to a shortage of workers would feed inflation. […]
A reader asked us how concerned we are about the market’s extension from crucial moving averages. The short answer is we are. But that doesn’t mean we are moving our equity holdings to cash. We continue to hold our equity positions for two reasons but we remain vigilant. First, the S&P 500 is doing great, […]
A year ago, the Fed Funds futures market thought the Fed would have cut rates two to three times before the July 31, 2024 FOMC meeting. Two weeks ago, the odds of a rate cut at the July 31 meeting were near zero. Furthermore, the market was only pricing in one cut for the remainder […]