Surveys

Goldilocks Without The Bears

Feb 29, 2024 2 min read

Every now and then, the economy is widely described as being a "Goldilocks" economy. Like Goldilocks' preferred porridge, it is not too hot and not too cold, but just right and bullish for stocks. We often agreed with that assessment, but we also noted that three bears did show up at the end of this cautionary tale. Once again, the economy is just right for Professor Goldilocks,

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead: February 26 - March 1

Feb 25, 2024 2 min read paid

The economic week ahead is jampacked with important economic indicators. The ones for January–New Home Sales (Mon), Durable Goods (Tue), and Personal Income (Thu)–were probably weakened by the month's bad weather. The February indicators should show some rebound in economic activity. February's Dallas, Richmond, and Kansas City Fed regional business surveys will be out this week. They should confirm the weather-related rebounds in economic

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead: January 29 - February 2

Jan 28, 2024 2 min read paid

The FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday with Fed Chair Jerome Powell conducting a press conference Wednesday afternoon. We expect no change in the federal funds rate. Powell is likely to push back against the market's expectations of sooner-rather-than-later rate cuts by observing that financial conditions have eased and the economy is stronger than expected, thanks in part to productivity. The first week of each month tends to be

Ed Yardeni

Hot Chips

Jan 18, 2024 2 min read paid

Ed Yardeni

Loose Houthis Can Sink Ships

Jan 16, 2024 2 min read

Chevron CEO Michael Wirth warned yesterday in a CNBC interview that the Red Sea crisis could disrupt oil supplies and quickly push oil prices higher: "So much of the world's oil flows through that region that were it to be cut off, I think you could see things change very rapidly," he said. So what did the price of oil do today? It edged down (chart)

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead: January 2–5

Jan 1, 2024 2 min read paid

We made it through another year of living dangerously: 2024 is here! The first week of the new year is unlikely to bring any surprises on the economic front. Most of the indicators will provide insights into the labor market and consumer spending on autos and houses: (1) November's JOLTS report (Tue) should confirm that there are still more job openings than unemployed workers. We know that from

Ed Yardeni

Bonds Yields Down On Weak Goods Economy

Dec 27, 2023 1 min read paid

Bond yields continued to fall today on December's weak manufacturing regional surveys conducted by five of the 12 Federal Reserve district banks. Furthermore, on Tuesday, Mastercard SpendingPulse reported that retail sales during the holiday shopping season (from November 1 through December 24) were up just over 3% y/y. The increase was weaker excluding the 7.8% increase in restaurant sales. We conclude that the rolling recession for

Ed Yardeni

Roaring Stock Market

Dec 21, 2023 2 min read paid

The stock market came roaring back today led by the stock prices of companies that are benefitting from the Roaring 2020s. Strong results and guidance from Micron Technology boosted shares 9% today, while lifting other chip and semiconductor equipment stocks (chart). Micron is the largest US memory chip maker. Its chips go into a wide range of products. The rally since the correction low on October 27 has been breathtaking

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead: November 27 - December 1

Nov 26, 2023 2 min read paid

The BIG number of the week is likely to be October's personal consumption expenditures deflator (Thu). It should confirm the ongoing moderation in consumer price inflation shown by October's CPI and PPI reports (chart). The core PPI final demand for personal consumption was down to just 2.5% y/y in October. It does not include rent inflation, which is still high but heading lower. The

Ed Yardeni

Halloween Is Over. Is Santa Here Already?

Nov 1, 2023 2 min read paid

It's possible that the S&P 500 bottomed today. Bond King Jeffrey Gundlach appeared on CNBC following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's presser and opined that the entire yield curve looked attractive, at least for a trade. We agree. He also observed that the S&P 500 might have found support at its uptrend line connecting the lows of March 23, 2020 and October 12,

Ed Yardeni

Will Powell Sound More Dovish On Wednesday?

Oct 31, 2023 2 min read paid

The short answer is: We doubt it. It's unlikely that his views on the economy and monetary policy have changed much since his hawkish interview on October 19 at the Economic Club of New York. So he is likely to maintain the same tone at his presser on Wednesday following the latest FOMC meeting. The message should remain the same. Monetary policy will have to remain restrictive until

Ed Yardeni

Everything Is OK Except For...

Oct 24, 2023 2 min read paid

The Q3 earnings reporting season is underway and going well with Microsoft delivering a big upside earnings surprise after today's close. We still expect that S&P 500 earnings per share rose to a record high during the quarter. That's confirmed by S&P 500 forward earnings (chart). Inflation continues to moderate as confirmed by today's Richmond Fed regional business survey'

Ed Yardeni

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