TIMELY MARKET UPDATES
Omicron Effects Jobs Market, Service PMI Flying High, and Signs of a Bubble
More signs of a bubble-like market are showing up so let’s take a look. While the jobs market disappoints, the markets seem to be focused on Omicron and what Covid is likely to do. A lot of volatility in…
Consumer Confidence Wanes, Looming Covid Setbacks, and A Deep Look at Inflation
While supply bottlenecks are starting to ease, what will Delta and Omicron do to the global economy? Just what is Consumer confidence in the U.S.? What are dividend and bond rates telling us? Will corporate…
Omicron Takes Hold Overseas, Current Equity Market Drivers, and Bond and Commodity Woes
After setting yet another all-time high, the sudden emergence of the new Omicron Variant threw markets into turmoil. A new variant shouldn’t be a shock. Preliminary data says the variant is less likely…
Satiating Consumer Spending, Housing and Rent Inflation, and the “Magnificent 8”
Consumer spending, the pandemic and inflation. What will consumers do? The US dollar rally may help curb imported inflation of goods, but our own housing and rent inflation will overwhelm this beneficial …
Surging Inflation, Early Signs of Stabilization in China, and Growing Evidence of a Market Top
Perhaps we’ve rediscovered why there is a worker shortage. Inflation, stagflation, and more inflation. This does not look “transitory” and the rates of inflation may shock you. What can cash inflows…
Inflation Shoots to Multi-Decade Highs, Market Froth Accumulates, and Checking In on China’s Debt Crisis
The various gauges of inflation are confirming what we already see at the pump, at stores and online—prices are going up and there is little sign they will abate anytime soon. Producer inflation is…
A Busy Fed, a 20+ Year Record for the S&P 500, and Bracing for Further Supply Chain Pressures
November will be a big month for Federal Reserve developments, with more actionable talk of rate hikes and plans to start tapering asset purchases before the end of the month. With a balance sheet…
Services PMI Hits New Record High, Equities Notch a Few New Records of Their Own, and the Chinese Debt Crisis Continues
Early in the pandemic, we talked a lot about how the services recovery was a little slow out of the gate when compared to manufacturing. Momentum is accelerating though, and October saw the ISM…
Good Help Grows Ever Harder to Find, Consumer Confidence Deteriorates, and a Stagflation Check In
Good help is growing hard to find—and afford—in the U.S. The Employment Cost Index (ECI) posted its largest gain on record last quarter, driven primarily by wage increases on the lower end of the pay…
Prices Continue to Climb, Yield Curves Flatten, and the Energy Crisis Deepens
After a dip into contraction in September, manufacturing in Richmond has realigned with the national average to settle in “slow-growth” mode. Prices also followed a similar pattern to the national…