Market Looking for Direction 🤔

🥱  Dec inflation hits 7%. Dec 12-month CPI hit 7% up from Nov’s 6.8% reading. Viewing #InflationFears potentially moderating, investors initially cheered results Wed though optimism lost stream by end of day. 🧐  Stagnant market. Markets struggling for direction as investors remain focused on #RisingYields. Some analysts now predicting 4 rate hikes this year while Fed trying to soothe markets Read More

Investors Flee Growth 💨👟

💨👟  Fleeing growth. 2022 started right where 2021 ended with fear around lofty Growth valuations in a #RisingYields environment. While overall S&P 500 down -2% for week, heavy #Flight2Safety Value rotation all week with Growth underperforming Value by over 5%. 📝  Hawkish Fed minutes. Compounding already negative Growth sentiment, Fed Dec meeting notes released indicate quicker balance sheet reduction under consideration Read More

Early Christmas for Markets 🎁

🧪  No US lockdown. Biden announced 🇺🇸 #COVID19 Omicron plan focusing on vaccination and testing vs. lockdowns. Fearing a shutdown similar to many in Europe, announcement kicked off week-long rally on Omicron optimism. 🥳  Lots of Omicron cheer. Looking past surging cases, investors rally into the holidays on #COVID19 Omicron optimism. It seems like Omicron surges to a peak quickly with milder Read More

Fed Turns Hawkish 🦅

🦅  Fed shifting to offense. Fed turns hawkish to combat surging #InflationFears. Fed accelerating tapering plan doubling monthly reduction to $30B and targeting 3 rate hikes in 2022 (up from just one expected last month). We think even the accelerated expectations may still be conservative… 😷  Omicron surging globally. While still milder symptoms generally, high transmissibility has #COVID19 Omicron surging Read More

Omicron Fear Fades 😅

😅  Omicron fears abating. Positive developments on the #COVID19 Omicron front has the market running. Cases so far seem mild with high transmissibility and Pfizer believes its 3-shot regimen (2 initial + 1 booster) protects against Omicron. 🙄  CPI up only 6.8%… Nov 12-month CPI grew 6.8%-a 40-year high. However, markets actually cheered the news with CPI coming in below #InflationFears estimate of Read More

The Omicron Rollercoaster 🎢

😬  Omicron anxiety. Big market movements all week with small bits of #COVID19 Omicron news trickling out. Investors remain super anxious with #COVIDRecovery uncertainty from new variant. S&P 500 ends down -1% for week. 💸  Transient no more? Powell is retiring describing inflation as ‘transient’ and considering accelerating asset tapering timeline. Quick tone change from just a couple weeks ago signaling #InflationFears risk Read More

A Different Black Friday 🦠

🦠  Omicron variant fears. New #COVID19 variant Omicron surging in South Africa has countries globally restricting travel again. Still a lot unknown about the new variant, but rampant speculation and thinly traded Black Friday sent markets nose-diving. S&P 500 fell over -2%. #COVIDRecovery names hit hard, but #RevengeTravel including hotels and airlines decimated. 🏦  Powell renominated. Overshadowed by Omicron, Biden renominated Fed Chair Read More

Strong Retail Demand 🛍

🛍  Strong retail spending. Retail #earnings were strong highlighting #COVIDRecovery consumer demand remains intact despite #InflationFears. However, #SupplyScare issues remain heading into Q4. Consumer up +4% for week. 🦠  4th Wave? #COVID19 resurgence in Europe as rising case has Austria mandating 20-day lockdown and Germany not ruling out potential lockdown either. Even  cases troughed weeks ago and rising again. Volatile market as #COVIDRecovery keeps starting and stopping. ️💸  Read More

Oct CPI Lifts Off 🚀

📈  Surging inflation. #InflationFears in high gear with Oct 12-month CPI rising 6.2%-3x higher than 2% annual target. Investors concerned Fed moving too slow with stubborn ‘transient’ expectations. 10-year treasury yield rebounds up +9% after pullback from conservative Fed action. 📉  Consumer sentiment falling. #InflationFears spilling onto Mainstreet. Michigan’s consumer sentiment gauge dropped to 10-year low driven by surging Read More