Executive Summary Last Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 339,000 new jobs were created in May, and the unemployment rate increased from 3.4% to 3.7%.  The jobs number is derived from the Establishment Survey, while the unemployment number is from the Household Survey. Of note is [...]

Executive Summary Recent market movements attributable to “AI” (artificial intelligence) are reminiscent of the 1990’s “.com” era. Recently, Nvidia, a graphics processor manufacturer, reported a fiscal first quarter earnings drop of 20% (year-over-year) with revenue down 13%. Yet the stock soared (see first chart below) because of [...]

Executive Summary After losing around 34% throughout 2022, the Nasdaq 100 index has bounced nearly 30% off the lows. Most of this ramp is due to eight stocks, listed below with their corresponding P/E ratios, along with the return of fear of missing out (fomo). These stocks [...]

Executive Summary After over a decade of zero-interest rate policy, a pandemic, and massive government stimulus, inflation finally arrived with a vengeance on consumers.  In the first graph, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey reveals consumers do not feel good about the economy. It is at [...]

Executive Summary Last week’s Federal Funds Rate increase of .25% brings the rate over 5%, all part of the Federal Reserve’s fight to reduce inflation. The second graph shows the corresponding increases in Treasury Security rates. With the U.S. National debt now at $31.7 trillion, interest expense [...]

Executive Summary While the S&P 500 has recovered some of its 2022 losses, do not be fooled into thinking all is well. Eight stocks including Facebook (Meta), Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla are responsible for 100% of the positive return so far this [...]

Executive Summary When inflation is running below 2% annually, it does not get much attention. However, last year when it hit 9%, it was on everyone’s mind. This issue looks at how inflation impacts the purchasing power of one’s savings. High inflation combined with market cycle downturns [...]

Executive Summary Due to technological advances, stock market data and trading are both more available and much faster. This leads investors to think things will immediately improve or anything negative is short-term. Take inflation, which is caused by either rising energy prices flowing through costs of products [...]

Executive Summary Recently stock markets have appeared optimistic, even though financial data does not agree. In the first graph below, one can see banks are tightening lending standards, which is consistent with prior recessions. In a debt driven society, reduced lending results in lower demand and smaller [...]

Executive Summary This week I wanted to share a guest article from Wolf Richter. This article reflects on trends that we typically use to measure our economic position - services, goods, energy, or groceries - and how they pertain to consumers, and how their current positions can [...]