On Reopening: We’ve Just Seen The Iceberg’s Tip
New Data Should Accelerate Re-Opening When the pandemic started, the only data available was the number of new cases, existing cases, and deaths. The original models, perhaps based on prior pandemics like the Spanish Flu of 1918, forecast significant deaths, up to as many as 2 million in the U.S., and, of course, mass infections. Based on […]
The Shape Of Things To Come: ‘V’ Or ‘L’ Recovery
What do -38%, -34%, -30%, and -25% have in common? If you guessed that these are the Q2 real GDP forecasts from the major financial houses (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan), you would be correct. Incredible as it may seem, we are likely headed for a drop in Q2 real GDP in that magnitude, […]
The Potential Economic Impact Of The Reaction To The Coronavirus
Will You Catch Coronavirus? There is a minuscule chance of contracting the coronavirus if you live anywhere but in Hubei Province in China, and even less of a chance if you live in the U.S. The last time we had something like this (SARS), the public and business reaction wasn’t as extreme. It appears that social media […]
FOMO, Momentum, The Fed, But No Fundamentals
As of this writing, the equity markets are on a three-day losing streak, caused by less optimism on the “trade war” file. And, while there were some positives in recently released economic data, most major economic indicators continue to show business contraction. The equity market has been driven by “the economy is strong” narrative, FOMO (Fear of […]
The ‘Insurance’ Cut Worry
Fed Chair Powell’s congressional testimony did little to allay market fears regarding the Fed’s underlying posture. Markets continue to be worried that, while the Fed is certain to cut the Fed Funds rate by 25 bps at July’s meeting, the rate reduction may turn out to be just an “insurance” cut, especially in light of […]
Markets: Time to Reflect on Risk, not Return
The week ended September 7th saw a pull-back from the record highs set in late August. Perhaps we witnessed the infamous “double top” (January 26th and August 29th). It is clear that financial markets have become riskier, and, perhaps, it is time for investors to assess the risks inherent in their portfolios versus the prospects […]