bond market

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

The economy is growing slowly and inflating quickly, which presents significant challenges to the economy, to unprofitable and indebted sectors of the market, and eventually to the government – but not at least until the election.
Heightened uncertainty, rising volatility, and rising indebtedness exert tremendous financial stress on broader portions of the economy. The government won’t let it break until after the election.
Perry Capital has anticipated rising inflation, which is helping corporate profitability, but, to date, has not resulted in higher yields –– although credit spreads are beginning to widen in weaker credits. Expect more.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Read More »

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Economic data continues to surprise to the upside; the Citi surprise index was up again from last week (44.10 vs 39.0) and the January lows (0). It is above pre-pandemic levels, and the labor market is stronger, too. Unemployment is 3.7%, with claims falling and the number of available jobs rising.

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” Read More »

“In this new global environment, policymakers, even those previously in the ‘lower forever’ camp…”

Interest rates drive everything, and they are as volatile and directionally uncertain as they’ve ever been. So are the global macroeconomics driving them. Global fund managers are required to make bets on outcomes for stocks, currencies, and commodities based on the cost of money. If perspectives on rates are so dispersed, how can we judge the value of the things that are driven by them?

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“It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance…”

Key economic reports in the upcoming week are various and reasonably important, but Friday’s employment report is the only one that really matters. The Fed’s game plan was to raise interest rates enough to reduce the imbalance in the labor market. But the tightening is really quite marginal compared to the continued stimulus, and it is that stimulus that has been supportive of higher equity valuations and growth. I think the stock market sees this. What it fails to see — for now — is that the stimulus is supporting higher prices.

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“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one…”

The most significant risk facing investors is the Fed’s march towards a restrictive monetary policy.

Indeed, there are others: the invasion of Ukraine, lockdowns in China, the crypto fallout, and even the
nature of free speech in America as encapsulated in the Twitter saga. All make top headlines.

“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one…” Read More »