Industrial production broadly appears to have 0% growth since March and to be treading water. But, the general direction is better than it looks from that view. Since the 4th quarter of 2022 was so bad, if we continue this trajectory, the annual growth will start to show up. What's not quite as inspiring is that the growth is mostly [...]
The street applauded this number and bond yields soared. The market initially sold off as bond yields hit 4.83%, a new cycle high. Stocks were down as much as 1.5% before recovering all their losses by lunchtime. I think the retail sales number confirms the strength of the 3rd quarter. Optimism for earnings is currently outweighing higher interest rates. In [...]
Our first look at October numbers. Similar to the consumer sentiment report, we did see a down tick from last month and the survey did go back into negative territory. But, from a broader perspective we are still trending positive off the lows at the end of 2022. Disclaimer: This information is presented for informational purposes only and [...]
The consumer is pessimistic relative to history. There was a down tick from last month. We don't know if the down tick means anything. The same thing happened in May and the consumer became more optimistic over the next 3 months. The broader trend is still up off the historic lows at the of 2022.
The most anticipated release of the week came in ... "Unchanged" or sticky stuck from August at 3.7% yoy. But it's worth mentioning as we will discuss below that this is up from June CPI which was 3.09% yoy. Core CPI which excludes food and energy because of their volatility sits at 4.13% yoy down from 4.39% last month. Let's [...]
Durable order soften after early summer strength. Total manufacturing remains slightly negative YOY% change. This is a July report. On Friday we received the survey data for August. The 2 indices continue to give a bit of a mixed message. The ISM number, while still contractionary looks like it may have bottomed in July. The S&P PMI continues to predict [...]
The age old argument of the importance of labor versus capital in society. Heather Cox Richardson, professor of history at Boston College, presents the viewpoints of South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond and "rising politician Abraham Lincoln." Plot spoiler, it seems not much has changed since the late 1850's. It's a nice concise summary of the argument. https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/september-2-2023?r=5wnnr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Unchanged this century. Value or no? Certainly a topic for discussion. Disclaimer: This information is presented for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any investment products. None of the information herein constitutes an investment recommendation, investment advice or an investment outlook. The opinions and conclusions contained in [...]
Industrial Production turns negative. Disclaimer: This information is presented for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any investment products. None of the information herein constitutes an investment recommendation, investment advice or an investment outlook. The opinions and conclusions contained in this report are those of the individual [...]
Housing starts rebounded nicely in May to 1631 units from a revised lower 1340 units in April. Permits went up sequentially as well, just not as much. Both series are above the historic mean and median levels. Housing starts actually showed 5.7% growth YOY. Permits declined 12.7% from a year ago, this was a slower decline and the smallest decline [...]
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