1,313 results found
The US and much of the global economy are driven by bank credit. Since debt has grown consistently faster than GDP for over 40 years, bank credit is critical in steering economic activity. Given the strong dependence on debt for growth, a pick-up in bank credit levels typically results in stronger GDP growth and vice […]
Economics
Millions of young Americans will face the end of the student loan payment moratorium this summer. Why is this happening now, after a three-year break from payments? It is the result of the recent passage of the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” to raise the debt ceiling. Under that act, the Biden Administration is prohibited from extending […]
Business activity is slowing in the Eurozone once again. The Eurozone’s composite PMI for June, released on Friday, fell to 50.3 from 52.8, marking only a slight expansion of business activity during the month. The slowdown was due to weakening service growth and a deepening downturn in manufacturing activity. Despite the ongoing weakness in the […]
Powell delivered remarks to Congress yesterday on the outlook for the economy and banking system. His prepared remarks were strikingly similar to those made at last week’s FOMC press conference. This is no surprise as Powell is making an effort to avoid speculation that the Fed is near the end of its tightening cycle. In […]
Invest
The current market speculation surrounding artificial intelligence (A.I.) has garnered everyone’s attention. You can’t turn on a television or pick up a newspaper without a mention of “artificial intelligence.” The “F.O.M.O.” (Fear Of Missing Out) in stocks associated with developing and implementing artificial intelligence is evident. The chart below shows the performance differential between the basket of […]
Invest
“It’s a ‘New Bull Market’!” Over the past few days, the call of a new bull market has plastered headlines and media commentary. To wit: “The S&P 500 rallied Thursday to end the day in a bull market, marking a 20% surge since its most recent low, reached on October 12, 2022. That brings to […]
With the Fed pausing rate hikes yesterday, as was widely expected, the focus is now on what comes next. Will the Fed hike one or two more times as is implied in the Fed Futures contracts, or will they pause and let the monetary policy lags catch up to the economy? No one, including Fed […]
Trading Bitcoin since its inception has been like riding a roller coaster. In January 2015, Bitcoin was trading at $164. By May 2021, Bitcoin traded near $65,000 but then fell sharply to $30,000 in just a few months. It rebounded to a new high of $70,000 in six months, only to fall below $20,000 earlier […]
“More than 100% of SPX market cap gains this year have been driven by just 7 stocks with 3 stocks accounting for nearly 70%.” Stuart Kaiser- Citibank. The S&P 500 rose by a scant 0.5% in May, while the Nasdaq 100 was up nearly 8%. At the same time, the equal-weighted S&P 500, representing a […]