Morning Briefings
Expert market analysis delivered every morning. Stay informed with comprehensive research and data-driven insights.
Searching For Godot
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: The economic slowdown so far this year is not the game-changing “official” recession so widely feared. Waiting and waiting for this Godot of a recession is muting economic activity, but also inhibiting excesses. That’s why we expect any recession that does show up—a scenario we give 35% odds—to be mild and roll through the economy gradually by sector. We see a slow-growth scenario as the most likely outlook (60% odds) and an inflationary boom the least (5%). … Also: We turn our spotlight on what a rolling recession might look like and how September might treat the stock market.
Consumers, Russia & The Metaverse
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: With gasoline prices down in July, consumers had more money to spend on discretionary purchases, and retailers of most kinds benefited. Jackie taps Target’s Q2 results for consumer-spending trends and takeaways . … Also: Waging war in Ukraine has cost the Russian economy a great deal, but Q2 GDP contracted much less than economists expected, buoyed by the high prices that Russia’s energy exports fetched. … And: The Metaverse is hopping with diverse events—from concerts and celebrity-hosted parties to fashion shows and fine art sales. And everyone’s invited.
More On The Bulls Vs Bears Debate
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Is the stock market rally since June 16 a rally within the bear market or the start of a new bull market? The answer hinges on the economic outlook. We’re in the bull camp, believing that inflation is peaking, Fed tightening is nearly over, and a recession won’t result; bears may believe the opposite. … Analysts have been cutting their estimates for earnings but not revenues, so expected profit margins have been falling. That suggests they see no recession, just more difficulty passing fast-rising costs on to customers. … Also: Peeks at the MegaCap-8’s rally impacts on the S&P 500, Senator Schumer’s wrong-headed anti-buyback stance, and alternative measures of inflation.
Why Are Oil Prices Falling?
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Wondering what brought the price of gasoline and other petroleum products back down toward earth in recent weeks? Our data show it’s not Biden’s release of crude oil reserves but the effects of previously soaring prices—which depressed demand and sparked production—combined with China’s economic slowdown. … Speaking of which: Just when we thought the much-anticipated recession would be a no-show like Godot, he was spotted in China and maybe New York too. Might the US be in for a “rolling recession” à la the 1980s?
Waiting For Godot
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Today, we sift through the recent economic data and recent Fed head chatter for clues to the critical question: Now that recession fears have abated for 2022, what are the odds of one in 2023? … We give 60% odds to a slow-growth scenario, with GDP growing 1.5% in H2-2022 and 2.5% in 2023; 35% odds to a recession next year precipitated by the Fed’s inflation battle; and 5% odds to a boom scenario. … Critical to the recession question is whether inflation is peaking. We think so but need to see more evidence to be sure. … And: Dr. Ed reviews “Elvis” (+ + +).
Health Care, Earnings & Uncle Sam
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Today, Jackie takes the pulse of the S&P 500 Health Care sector, examining the M&A activity that has spurred it to outperform the market ytd and what the Inflation Reduction Act will mean for drug makers. … Also: A look at the 2023 earnings growth prospects of various S&P 500 sectors and industries. … And: How the Inflation Reduction Act aims to buy a greener US. … Plus: What will the newly passed CHIPS and Science Act spend $280 billion on? Lots more than chips.
Earnings & Productivity
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Why are industry analysts now slashing the estimates they had raised throughout the year’s first half (even as the economy slowed)? … Why has productivity growth dropped to its weakest y/y rate since 1947? Is it simply returning to its pre-pandemic trendline? … Why has household formation suddenly rebounded? … How did landlords get so lucky as to find themselves in a “Golden Age”? … Today, we explain these economic anomalies, aided by recent data releases. … Also: With the economy in a growth recession and forward earnings starting to flatten, the valuation-led stock market rally might sputter for a while.
Around The World
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Zooming out to assess big-picture data for major global economies, we conclude that Germany and China look most vulnerable to a recession next year. The US wouldn’t be immune to a global recession, but certain factors help insulate it. These include heavy capital inflows resulting from foreign investors’—correct—perception that US financial markets offer the safest harbor there is. Overweighting the US in global portfolios remains prudent. … Also: Germany’s economy faces duress this winter as heating the country becomes a challenge, and China’s economy is suffering at the hands of homegrown problems related to housing, lockdowns, and demographics.
No Recession In Labor Market
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: July’s surprisingly strong payroll employment report points to a strong July reading for the Index of Coincident Economic Indicators. This is good news for the economy, bad news for the fixed-income market, and mixed news for the stock market. While it squashes near-term recession fears, it ups prospective Fed hawkishness. … Within the labor market, there is unprecedented churn as people quit in record numbers for higher-paying positions elsewhere. Over half the workers in July’s employment report were hired over the past year! But consumer prices are spiraling upward along with wages, so even job-jumpers aren’t seeing much wage growth after adjusting for inflation.
Emerging Markets, Oil Refiners & Nuclear Power Plants
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Today, Jackie takes us on a quick world tour focusing on emerging economies. Many are ailing, but a few offer a safe haven from geopolitical storms. So does the US with its strong dollar, huge economy, and relatively calm body politic. … Also: Oil refiners had a stellar Q2 operating at near maximum capacity to meet surging demand. The industry is on track for another year of eye-popping revenues and earnings growth. … And in the disruptive technologies department, we highlight the potential of SMRs—small modular (nuclear) reactors.
US Earnings & European Gas
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Industry analysts finally have begun reining in their high earnings, revenues, and profit margin expectations. Their moves suggest that analysts collectively expect inflation to moderate but don’t anticipate a recession. … Also: Europe may face a cold, dark winter—literally and economically—if Russia doesn’t restore the natural gas flows to Europe that the EU depends on. Melissa presents a timeline of Russia’s gas-depriving moves and the responses from government and gas futures markets. … And: Soaring energy prices are dampening European consumer and business sentiment, boding ill for GDP growth and corporate earnings prospects. The only EMU MSCI sector with unscathed earnings growth expectations is Energy.
Valuation, M-PMI & Consumers
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Yesterday’s M-PMI report jibed with our view that the US economy is in a growth recession with some sources of inflation abating—which is bullish for stocks. … Since we think the S&P 500 might have bottomed on June 16, we’re raising our target ranges for its price index and forward P/E multiple while keeping our earnings expectations unchanged. … Also: The recent consumer spending and saving data paint a challenging picture: The “inflation tax” has sapped consumers’ purchasing power, causing less saving and more borrowing to support essential spending. Consumer sentiment hasn’t been so negative in nine years. Nevertheless, consumers should continue to pivot from buying goods to buying services.
Switching Planets: Investors Now From Venus, Analysts From Mars
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: We’ve been making the case that the latest bear market might have bottomed on June 16. So far, so good. ... Just a few weeks back, industry analysts’ earnings estimates suggested they were oblivious to investors’ recession fears, and we quipped that the former was from Venus, the latter from Mars. Now it’s investors interpreting news with a rosy bias as analysts shave their estimates. … The stock market now appears to be discounting investors’ recent hopes of peak inflation, peak Fed hawkishness, and a mild recession. … Also: We examine Powell’s suggestion that monetary policy is nearly restrictive. … And: The Bond Vigilantes are from Venus now too.
All About Housing
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: The US housing market is undergoing a reversal of fortune. The scorching hot market conditions of six months ago have reversed, as 40% home appreciation over the past two years plus soaring mortgage rates have priced homeownership beyond many Americans’ grasp. The resultant greater demand for rental units has spurred high rent inflation. Additionally, the pool of would-be homebuyers has shrunk, more deals are falling apart before closing, motivated sellers have begun dropping listing prices, and builders are slashing prices. … Today, we look at all things housing, including how recent demographic and domestic migration trends have affected market conditions and at how market conditions are affecting homebuilders.
How Much Rate Hiking Does QT2 Equal?
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: The Fed may have 100bps less of rate hiking to do thanks to the tightening effects of the strong dollar and QT2, the Fed’s balance-sheet-reduction plan. That means the Fed may be done raising the federal funds rate in September after just two more 75bps increases to 3.00%. … Indeed, the Treasury market appears to be discounting a 3.00% peak, sooner rather than later. … The mortgage market in particular must be discounting QT2, as the Fed’s rate hiking alone can’t account for how high mortgage rates have soared, depressing housing and weakening the economy.
Anatomy Of A Mid-Cycle Slowdown
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Investors still have plenty to fear. But our earnings and economic data analyses plus recent stock market action tend to support our relatively constructive outlooks for the economy and stock market (especially relative to the fears). … Specifically, we think the S&P 500 likely hit its bear-market low of 3666 on June 16 and will remain range bound between 3666-4150 pending economic improvement; the peaking of inflation should limit further valuation downside. … As for the economy, we think it’s undergoing a mid-cycle slowdown that could flatten expected earnings growth—but not a conventional recession that causes earnings to tank.
Financials, China & Russian Gas
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Banks have been navigating rising interest-rate seas remarkably well, managing to keep low the interest rates they pay out on deposits and raise the rates they take in on loans. As a result, net interest margins have been improving nicely from last year’s depressed levels. If banks can keep that up, the income upside would be substantial. … Also: China may regret not opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine if emerging market nations, struggling under the burden of war-induced food and energy inflation, aren’t able to make good on their debt payments to China. … And: A timely look at innovative ways to generate and store energy.
The Dollar & Earnings
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Although Fed officials rarely discuss the US dollar’s impact on the economy, the dollar’s recent strength does exert an impact comparable to some degree of interest-rate hiking. Ditto the Fed’s latest quantitative tightening program, QT2. Both effectively will lower the federal-funds-rate endpoint of this tightening cycle. … The dollar’s recent strength reflects massive inflows into US financial markets from overseas given the troubled economies most everywhere else. So we continue to recommend a Stay Home investment strategy for US investors. … How does the dollar’s strength affect corporate earnings? There’s no rule of thumb to go by, but with S&P 500 companies deriving about 40%-50% of their revenues and earnings from abroad, the impacts can be significant.
More On Inflation
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Consumer prices, wages, home prices, rent: They’ve all been surging northward at stunning rates. Today, we take a deep dive into the wage-price-rent spiral. … We examine recent rent data, how they’re measured, and the forces that drive them—such as the plummeting affordability of home purchasing. … Regarding wages, one measure suggests wage inflation may be moderating, while the other shows it is still very high. … We still expect inflation to moderate, led by nondurable and durable goods inflation. The risk is that the wage-price-rent spiral continues, forcing the Fed to trigger a recession—which always has brought inflation down in the past.
Bear Market Rally Or A New Bull Market?
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: What’s ahead for the stock market? That depends on the significance of the S&P 500’s June 16 low-to-date in the current bear market, of 3666. If that turns out to be the bear’s bottom—which sure would be freaky since the previous one was at S&P 500 666—then either a bull market or a sideways-drifting one is just ahead. Alternatively, deeper lows may be in store if the gain since June 16 was just a short-covering rally within a bear market (as the reversal in sector leadership suggests). … Today, we examine both the bull and bear scenarios, laying out the cases for each.
Europe Sans Gaz (ESG)
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Russia’s not above weaponizing its natural gas supplies to European nations; it has already frozen out Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland in retaliation for decisions Putin didn’t like. So does Russia’s recent close-down of Nord Stream 1 for “repairs” mean that the pipeline critical to heating Germany this winter won’t be reopening? Jackie looks at the potential for an energy crisis in Europe and how various nations might fare. … Also: China faces mountainous economic challenges of its own. … And: With electric vehicle prevalence forecast to skyrocket this decade, an important new industry is born—lithium battery recycling.
Earnings, Inflation & Europe
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Industry analysts are starting to lower their earnings estimates for some of the companies they follow. They aren’t doing so because they suddenly see an imminent recession but rather profit margins getting squeezed. …We don’t expect this morning’s June CPI release to show a peaking of inflation just yet. July’s CPI should do so. We see inflation moderating during the second half of this year and further in 2023. … Also: A peek into the world of Europe’s credit markets. These markets have been buffeted lately, first by the ECB’s hawkishness, then by its reassurances of help for the most indebted of the Eurozone’s nations.
Thumbs Up or Down For Q2 Earnings?
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Ready for the earnings season? Investors have been fearing a recession since this year began, as depressed stock valuations attest, while industry analysts have catapulted their earnings and revenues estimates to record highs. There’s certainly no recession evident in forward revenues or forward earnings. … We think Q2 earnings calls will be full of examples of inflation boosting companies’ results and the Fed’s response to inflation not yet depressing them. However, the strong dollar and weaker global economic growth will weigh on earnings. Today, we provide a sector-specific rundown of issues that we expect to hear a lot about on Q2 earnings calls.
Reassessing the ‘Banana’ Scenario
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: Is a recession imminent? Is it here already? How big an impact will it have, if it comes, when it comes? The dreaded “R” word has everyone in a tither, and so does the weakness in the LEI. But the CEI suggests everything’s just fine. We recap the latest economic releases and how they’ve led us to the subjective probabilities we assign to four alternative economic scenarios. … We also assess how well peaks in the S&P 500 presage recessions. ... And: The stock market may have hit its bear bottom already according to the Da Vinci Code, if inflation is peaking and that tempers the Fed’s hawkishness. Also: Dr. Ed reviews “Staircase” (+ +).
China, Earnings & Batteries
Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: China’s stock market has enjoyed a nice bounce this year as President Xi’s policies have grown more business friendly as the Chinese Communist Party meeting approaches. We remain concerned about the heavy debt loads forcing Chinese real estate development companies to restructure. We’re also watching Covid cases and Chinese exports to the slowing US and European economies. … We also take a look at which industries’ consensus earnings have been revised down by analysts so far this year. … Electric vehicles may emit less CO2 than internal combustion engines, but manufacturing and disposing of lithium batteries is an awfully dirty business.