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FED – In this article youβll find:
- π¨ Bank of AmericaΒ – Is this only the first of 3 inflationary lag?
- π PARALLELS BETWEEN WWII AND CORONAVIRUS ERAS
- π FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DEFICITS
- π MONEY SUPPLY HAS GONE NEGATIVE
π¨ BlackRock Institute Β – The fastest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s is causing financial cracks
- π THE DAMAGE
- π LABOR MARKET
- π UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
π¨ RBC Global Asset Management – Do you believe it? 75bp of cumulative Fed cuts by December?
- π INTEREST RATES
- π USD DOLLAR
- π LOOKING AHEAD
π¨ Rothschild & CO
- π CHINA GDP
- π πΊπΈ US BUSINESS
- π LABOUR MARKET
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Here you can find other articles:
- Central Banks FED Should Now Pivot
- Macro Picture – US, China & EU
- A New Bull Market Is Ready To Start?
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π¨ Bank of America β Is this only the first of 3 inflationary lag? π
– βWhile investors remain guarded and cautious near term for numerous reasons, investors should recognize and position for the coming multiyear boom in U.S.β
π PARALLELS BETWEEN WWII AND CORONAVIRUS ERAS
– βEconomists and policymakers who focus as much on history as they do on theory have a much better ability to understand the implications of monetary and fiscal policy on both economies and markets.β
– βBoth eras have been characterized by an interventionist Fed, higher-than-average public deficits, and excessive increases in money supply, which facilitated high nominal GDP growth and eventually very high inflation.β
– βThe post-WWII era then saw slowing monetary growth leading to disinflation and even deflation, although it took three separate spikes in inflation in a decade before inflation was finally contained.β
– βSo far, post-pandemic has seen one inflationary spike and one ongoing contraction in money supply, which has also been similarly disinflationary thus far.β
π FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DEFICITS
– βThe result of this combined activity was higher-than-typical federal government deficits (financed by central bank balance sheet expansion), money supply growth, nominal GDP growth and – eventually and predictably – inflation.β
– βAnnual U.S. deficits as a percentage of GDP peaked at more than 26% in 1942,2 while money supply growth peaked at close to 35% in March of 1947.3 Both those statistics have remained the highest levels ever seen by a wide margin; only the post-pandemic era has produced anything remotely similar.β
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π MONEY SUPPLY HAS GONE NEGATIVE
– βAs money supply growth has now gone negative, deficits have normalized, interest rates have risen, central bank balance sheets have stopped expanding and started to contract, and bank lending standards continue to tighten, the strong disinflationary trends should continue in our opinion, and the peak of the inflationary spike should be behind us.β
– βHowever, we would note that in two prior episodes of high inflationβpost-WWII and the 1970sβthere were three separate and distinct inflationary spikes before inflation was finally subdued.β
π¨ BlackRock Institute β The fastest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s is causing financial cracks π
– βFinancial cracks from rate hikes have led to jitters over commercial real estate.β
– βThe Federal Reserve signaled a pause may follow last weekβs rate hike. Yet jobs data showed a tight labor market. We expect a pause but no rate cuts this year.β
π THE DAMAGE
– βIn the U.S., itβs now evident in the financial cracks emerging from higher interest rates on top of rate-sensitive sectors. Higher mortgage rates have hurt sales of new homes.β
– βWe also see other warning signs, such as deteriorating CEO confidence, delayed capital spending plans and consumers depleting savings.β
– βThe ultimate economic damage depends on how far central banks go to get inflation down. The Federal Reserve signaled a pause after hiking rates in May. But it also reiterated that persistent inflation means no rate cuts this year.β
π LABOR MARKET
– βU.S. labor market is still very tight, with a worker shortage persisting. Employment growth has slowed slightly this year but is still increasing at an annualized rate of around 1.7%, not much slower than the historical average.β
– βWeβve long said the labor force participation rate will be a key gauge of how labor supply is recovering.β
π UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
– βThe unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest level since before man walked on the moon.β
– βAnd on top of that, wage growth is not slowing. Average hourly earnings increased at an annualized rate of almost 4% in the three months to April and nearly 6% on the month.β
– βEmployment Cost Index β the Fedβs preferred measure of wage growth β was already close to 5% in Q1.β
π¨ RBC Global Asset Management – Do you believe it? 75bp of cumulative Fed cuts by December? π
– βFears of an imminent recession contrast with recent corporate earnings and consumer strength.β
– βIn the US, the labour market remains resilient, and inflation came in below 5% for the first time in two years.β
– βIn general, we wouldnβt be surprised if volatility picks up in the months ahead.β
– βOn the data front, the US labour market remains surprisingly resilient, with unemployment falling to 3.4%, a 50-year low, while monthly nonfarm payroll additions continue to run at a healthy clip (200k+).β
π INTEREST RATES
– βUS interest rate markets currently discount approximately 75bp of cumulative Fed cuts by December.β
– βThis may appear overly optimistic, given the tightness of the labour market and subsequent pass-through into wages and services inflation.β
– βIn the UK, the BoE hiked rates 25bps to 4.5% as expected, with revisions to the growth forecast ruling out a recession in the near-term. However, with headline inflation still above 10%, real rates are still in deeply negative territory.β
π USD DOLLAR
– βIn FX, the dollar has been stable near the lows of the year. However, the story of the week has been continued compression of volatility in FX, with the relentless hunt for carry unabated.β
– βWe remain skeptical of this β the forward-looking returns for carry tend to be negative when volatility is this low, most carry currencies screen poorly on valuations and are lacking any risk premium.β
π LOOKING AHEAD
– βOn the other hand, recent economic data is displaying strength, and the narrative could easily shift in the direction of the Fed needing to do more on rates to get inflation under control.β
– βWe therefore have low conviction in the macro backdrop but are biased to expect more volatility and a period of risk-off in markets, as potential risks come to the fore.β
π¨ ROTHSCHILD & CO
π CHINA GDP
– βChinaβs GDP expanded 2.2% q/q in Q1-23 following 0.6% in Q4-22, supported mainly by the strong rebound in householdsβ consumption.β
– βSpending on services, particularly traveling, is set to remain strong, although uncertainty remains elevated on other categories as recent indicators have provided conflicting signals about the recovery.β
π πΊπΈ US BUSINESS
– βUS business investment remained weak and almost all the rebound in consumption came almost exclusively from a strong reading in January.β
– βInvestors remain optimistic regarding the outlook as the S&P Global business confidence index improved once again in April to a 11-month high despite the recent banking stress, suggesting that the Eurozone economic activity gained momentum in early Q2.β
π LABOUR MARKET
– βLabour markets remain tight in most countries, in part because demand is robust, but also reflecting a slow post-pandemic recovery in supply, with fewer older workers participating in the labour force.β
– βIn that context, cost pressures from wages not only remain elevated in most advanced economies, but some measures are showing signs of a re-acceleration.β
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Alessandro is a Financial Markets enthusiastic and he loves learning from articles/papers on many financial topics.
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