Naturally, during times of market stress, every week seems pivotal. Still, the next five days will be chock-a-block with earnings, economic releases, and economic events that are likely to set the tone for the market and a fair amount of political commentary for the rest of the summer. More than 170 S&P 500 companies will report earnings this week (including 12 Dow components), while 2nd quarter GDP and the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation - the Core PCE- and the ECI will also be annou… View More
The Treasury yield curve flattened significantly over the course of the week as short-term yields rose and long-term yields dropped while inflation continued to run hotter than expected. The flattening of the yield curve started early in the week as China re-imposed Covid restrictions leading to concerns of additional slowdowns to the world economy. Data released on Wednesday showed the consumer price index increased at a 9.1% year-over-year rate for June, which is the highest annual increase in… View More
CPI again surged +0.7% m/m (!) and 5.9% y/y. Shelter rose +0.6% m/m. Both core and headline CPI m/m surprised to the upside again this month, indicating inflation has broadened. Bottom line: U.S. inflation is still too high, and monetary policy needs to continue to tighten aggressively in our opinion. Having chosen a +75bp hike last meeting, that should become the default for the July Fed hike at the end of the month. HOW WILL U.S. CONSUMERS DEAL WITH INFLATION? Consider: 1) SMOOTHING THE … View More
In January 2022 we rebalanced our portfolios to reduce exposure to companies that had extended multiples and were paying little or no dividends. These equities are considered long-duration equities because they will grow into their stock pricing multiples over an extended time period. These companies' stock performance have a history of being very volatile in times of economic slowing and high inflation. In January, we added a number of companies to our portfolio that better met the attributes … View More
Watching For 2023 Downward Guidance During 2Q Reporting Season The second quarter earnings season is set to begin this week and while earnings are expected to be up about 6%, the 2Q story is about energy holding up the aggregate data. We are more interested in guidance for the remainder of the year and into 2023. We are of the view that 2023 estimates are too high and will likely come in once analysts are given the cover from companies. For 2023, the consensus estimate is near $250, our estimate… View More