Yardeni QuickTakes (Page 138)

May's Retail Sales Depressed Q2's Real GDP

Jun 16, 2022 2 min read

May's retail sales was weak in current dollars (-0.3% m/m) and even weaker in real dollars (-1.6%). The question is whether consumers have more than satisfied their post-lockdown, pent-up demand for goods, and are now spending more on services? Consider the following: (1) The three rounds of stimulus checks provided by Uncle Sam (actually Uncles Don and Joe) during the pandemic certainly stimulated retail sales.

Ed Yardeni

Bull/Bear Ratio Remains Under 1.0

Jun 15, 2022 2 min read paid

The Bull/Bear Ratio (BBR) remains bearish. It has been bouncing around 1.00 since late February. During the bull market from March 9, 2009 through January 3, 2022, a reading of 1.00 or less turned out to be a very good short-term and long-term buy signal from a contrarian perspective. That’s when investors could count on the Fed Put to save the day. That’s no longer

Ed Yardeni

Small Business Owners Depressed But Still Hiring

Jun 14, 2022 1 min read

Inflation is depressing, and it is depressing everyone—including consumers, business people, and investors in stocks and bonds. For example, consider May’s survey of small business owners conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): (1) Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months decreased four points to a net negative 54%, the lowest level recorded in the history of the 48-year-old survey! (2) Inflation was

Ed Yardeni

It’s Officially a Bear Market

Jun 14, 2022 2 min read

On Monday, the latest S&P 500 correction morphed into a bear market when the index closed down more than 20.0%—specifically 21.8%—below its record-high close on January 3, 2022. Over this period, the S&P 500 forward P/E plunged 26.6% from 21.4 to 15.7 even as forward earnings (i.e., the time-weighted average of analysts’ earnings estimates for 2022 and

Ed Yardeni

Stay Home vs. Go Global

Jun 13, 2022 1 min read paid

The Stay Home investment strategy is underperforming the Go Global alternative so far this year in local currencies. On the other hand, the ratio of the US MSCI to the All Country World (ACW) ex-US MSCI in dollars (rather than local currencies) remains on a solid upward trend (charts below).

Ed Yardeni

Dr Ed's Video Webcast 6/13/22

Jun 13, 2022 1 min read

In today's Webcast: May’s CPI report showed scant signs of inflation peaking, though we still expect peaking soon. The report also suggests a more hawkish Fed and higher recession risk. We’re raising our odds of a mild recession to 45% from 40%. Below is exclusive early access to Dr Ed's Webcast for paid Members. This post and video will open to the public on

Ed Yardeni

Uncle Sam Isn’t Santa Claus

Jun 12, 2022 1 min read

Following Friday’s CPI shocker, the financial media seem to have concluded that the Fed will have no choice but to raise the federal funds rate faster than planned to bring inflation down—causing a recession. The Fed is now expected to raise the federal funds rate on Wednesday by 75bps rather than 50bps. The two-year Treasury note soared 23bps on Friday to 3.06%, implying investor expectations that the

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead 6/13/22

Jun 11, 2022 1 min read paid

A whole bunch of economic indicators to be released this coming week are likely to confirm that the economy is struggling with stagflation—i.e., high inflation with slow economic growth: (1) On the inflation front, May’s PPI will be out on Tuesday. That same day, the NFIB survey of small business owners will include data on the percentage raising their prices last month. The same goes for June’

Ed Yardeni

CPI Unnerves Investors

Jun 10, 2022 1 min read

This past week was an ugly one for the S&P 500 adding significantly (5.1ppts) to the 18.2% ytd loss in the index. The MegaCap-8 stocks continued to weigh most heavily on the S&P 500 Information Technology, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Here is the ytd and past week's performance derby for the index and its 11 sectors: Energy (58.7%, -0.

Ed Yardeni

Protracted Inflation

Jun 10, 2022 2 min read

Inflation is no longer transitory or persistent. It is protracted. The headline and core CPI inflation rates have yet to peak because rapidly rising energy prices continue to put upward pressure on the headline rate directly and on the core rate indirectly by boosting energy-related costs like transportation. The headline and core rates for May were 8.6% y/y and 6.0% y/y. Here are a few quick

Ed Yardeni

More Central Bank Tightening

Jun 9, 2022 1 min read paid

Don't fight the central banks when they are fighting inflation. Stock prices dropped today on news that the European Central Bank will end quantitative easing on July 1, then raise interest rates by 25bps on July 21. It will then hike again on September 8. At -0.5%, the ECB's deposit rate has been in negative territory since 2014. Unlike the Fed, the ECB remains committed

Ed Yardeni

S&P 500 Industry Analysts Giving Earnings Mixed Reviews