labor market

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

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Optimism is rising for two main reasons: The U.S. economy and markets are going to continue to improve because Trump’s pro-growth, America-First administrative agenda – which will include tax cuts, deregulation, decreased trade deficits, and, most importantly, reduced government spending – promises to be extremely effective. Investors know it. Confidence has skyrocketed on the part of corporate executives, small businesses, households, students, and… even farmers.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Read More »

“In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress.”

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The economy continues to expand and consistently exceed expectations across most data series. Yet confidence surveys continue to languish well below pre-pandemic levels; at the same time, investor bullishness has rarely been higher. This is unusual and should reconcile itself to some consistency. I would expect confidence to rise. Yet truthfully, it is fiscal dominance –¬ more so than monetary dominance ¬– that is the more significant issue. The debt ceiling is currently suspended. In January 2025, however, it will automatically come back into effect. This means that the U.S. Treasury will not be able to issue more debt until Congress raises or suspends the ceiling again. However, they still have spending obligations and are running structural deficits due to the policies Congress has implemented for decades. Thus, government spending could potentially be forced downward – depending on whether conservatives or liberals control Congress. If that happens, it would be a net positive for the economy.

“In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress.” Read More »

“Sitting [in my office] on a Sunday afternoon… going to the candidates’ debate…”

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It has been a bad start to September for the financial markets. The earnings reports portrayed a mixed picture for both the tech sector and the broad economy. Added to that is the upcoming presidential election. Markets do not like uncertainty. There’s plenty of it, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

“Sitting [in my office] on a Sunday afternoon… going to the candidates’ debate…” Read More »

“He who awaits much can expect little.”

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The Big Story of the Week was Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole. The Chairman’s message was clear: The Fed’s focus has shifted exclusively in the direction of U.S. Employment. Inflation will be allowed to run hot–especially in services and shelter.
There was little doubt that more stimulus was coming. Powell has signaled for months that he wants to stimulate—all he needed was supporting evidence. He got it. The BLS revised its new job calculations (Reducing the new jobs created in the year by over 800,000), which now indicate that employment growth was 30% lower than previously advertised.

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“Mr. Biden and his party have been given the chance to avoid a dire fate for their country and the world. They should seize it.”

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The S&P 500 once again touched an all-time high (5,523) but closed on a down note for two reasons. First, inflation remains persistent. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (PCE) showed prices are still rising substantially more than they were pre-pandemic (+2.6% vs +1.3%.) The key (outside-down-day) reversal lower insured that for the 9th. straight day, the U.S. equity index failed to close above the psychologically important 5,500 level. Second, Biden’s Presidential term is likely finished. The damaging and likely permanent fallout from the debate is devastating. More on that below.

“Mr. Biden and his party have been given the chance to avoid a dire fate for their country and the world. They should seize it.” Read More »

“By all means, let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”

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The Fed Won’t Cut Rates This Year. Most economists think they should. (Of course, they do! Most of them work for the government or on Wall Street.) But let’s face it, as calculated by the government, inflation for the average household is up 25% since it started rising in 2021. However, for most households, it feels much higher. The point is that inflation is not going to go down. The Fed doesn’t even want it to! Core PCE is rising at 3.5%, and it’s expected to rise to 4% by the election. The Fed’s stated target is +2%; inflation would have to be negative for a prolonged period to bring any relief to the average household.

“By all means, let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.” Read More »

“Equity fund managers always tell you what’s going to go right, but what risk managers want to know…

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The Perry Capital Portfolio remains unchanged (75% cash.) 50% of the portfolio is in the money market. The
T-Bill position remains at 25% of portfolio assets. Long Treasuries represent 10% of the portfolio. The
S&P 500 is also a 10% position. So far, everything is up. My small Silver and Bitcoin positions have been good
performers for the start of the year. Lower long-term funding rates are the key to the whole puzzle. We’ll
know more about that on February 1st.

“Equity fund managers always tell you what’s going to go right, but what risk managers want to know… Read More »