It may be too early to claim victory on inflation. Higher than anticipated inflation in shelter pushed up core inflation more than expected, but that wasn’t the only concerning category in the report. Following the report, interest rates jumped to 3-month highs. U.S. oil producers are doing more with less. Homeowners are staying put. An outlier in Europe. The AI mania continues. Magnificent profits.
1. Goods deflation offset higher inflation in the ex-shelter categories:
2. Owners equivalent rent diverged from primary and observed rents during the month, we would be surprised if this divergence continues:
3. The market pricing for 2024 rate cuts is coming back into line with the FOMC’s projections:
Source: The Daily Shot 2/14/2024
4. It seems unlikely that U.S. oil producers will be able to continue to increase (or even maintain on a longer time horizon) oil production without drilling more wells:
5. New homes continue to be the only source of marginal supply in the housing market:
Source: The Daily Shot 2/13/2024
6. Sweden’s Industrial Production has trended upward during a time of general stagnation in Europe:
Source: The Daily Shot 2/12/2024
7. Many companies are feeling the need to communicate an “AI strategy” to shareholders:
Source: @samro via the Daily Chartbook
8. The semiconductor sector continues to be the main beneficiary of the AI boom:
Source: The Daily Shot 2/12/2024
9. Putting market valuations aside, it’s clear that the “Magnificent Seven” are some of the best publicly traded businesses on the market today: