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Gold Is Getting Ahead Of Itself
To appreciate the recent gold price surge, we discuss three critical factors. Money Supply—The chart below shows that the ratio of gold to the money supply (M2) and the money supply tend to follow each other, albeit gold prices are more volatile. The ratio is well extended as it was in 2011. In September 2011, […]
Feb 19, 2025
Eggflation Fears
Egg prices were up nearly 19.5% in last Wednesday’s CPI report as the Avian flu wreaks havoc on the nation’s egg supply. Despite its inconsequential role in determining inflation, Eggflation is getting much publicity. Given the Eggflation fearmongering on social media, it’s worth putting some context on egg prices and their impact on CPI. Eggs […]
Feb 18, 2025
The Fiscal Freeze Is Coming
In mid-March, the government is expected to hit the debt ceiling. As has seemingly become the norm, dire threats from both political parties will start shortly. However, despite the fiery rhetoric, they often get resolved before the government shuts down. Might the coming fiscal standoff be a little different? Our colleague Greg Valliere, a long-time […]
Feb 14, 2025
CPI Rose More Than Expected
The January CPI report was troubling as it rose more than expected. The monthly rate rose by 0.5%, about 0.2% above expectations. The core monthly rate was a tenth of a percent above expectations, at 0.4%. The year-over-year CPI rate rose to 3% from 2.9%. The latest CPI data argues inflation is stuck in a […]
Feb 13, 2025
Truflation Data Points To A Coming Decline In CPI
The graphs below, courtesy of Truflation, are very telling. The Truflation US Inflation Index uses over 30 million data points to assess price changes and, as a result, provide a robust forecast for the BLS CPI number. Moreover, their data have proven to be an incredibly accurate forecasting tool. As we share in the graph […]
Feb 12, 2025
Ethereum Falters Due To Massive Short Positions
If one weren’t paying attention to the cryptocurrency market, one would think that all cryptocurrencies were doing well. For instance, meme coins are all the rage, and Bitcoin has been up about 50% since the election. Donald Trump and his pro-crypto rhetoric help explain the rally. Moreover, Trump has nominated pro-crypto people to serve important […]
Feb 11, 2025
Bessent Follows Yellens Strategy
Bond vigilantes had been questioning Janet Yellen’s debt management tactics in her role as Treasury Secretary. Specifically, they accused her of shifting debt issuance away from longer-term maturities and toward shorter ones. We think her strategy made sense. Yellen was issuing more debt where demand was the greatest and trying to limit the amount of […]
Feb 10, 2025
Small Cap Stocks Are Offering Outsized Returns
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 […]
Feb 7, 2025
The Birth Death Adjustment: Trade With Caution
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 […]
Feb 6, 2025
DOGE Deficit Reductions
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 […]
Feb 5, 2025
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