Archive

Help (Still) Wanted

Jan 30, 2024 2 min read

The job market remains strong. That was the message from a couple of labor market indicators today. The most timely was January's consumer confidence survey. The series for "jobs hard to get" dropped to 9.8% of respondents, almost a record-low reading (chart). This suggests that the unemployment rate remained below 4.0% this month. The survey's "jobs plentiful" series jumped to

Ed Yardeni

What Will Powell Say?

Jan 29, 2024 2 min read paid

Fed Chair Jerome Powell might disappoint the markets on Wednesday, when he conducts his press conference to discuss the decision of the latest FOMC meeting. He will say that economic growth has been better than expected and that inflation seems to be falling towards the Fed's 2.0% target faster than expected as well. He knows that the markets are expecting five 25bps cuts in the federal funds

Ed Yardeni

Market Call: Between Iran & A Hard Place

Jan 28, 2024 3 min read paid

Geopolitical events and crises rarely influence Fed policymaking. This time it might be different. The war that began on October 7 between Israel and Hamas is turning into a regional conflict in the Middle East. On Sunday, Iran-backed militants killed three US service members and wounded many more during an unmanned aerial drone attack in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border. This latest escalation increases the risks of disruptions to

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

DEEP DIVE: Party Like It's 1999!

Jan 26, 2024 3 min read

Is it possible that the meltup phase of the bull market (which started on October 12, 2022) has begun already—having started following the correction low on October 27, 2023? Yes, it is possible. Since that recent low, investors have become much less concerned about such adverse macro issues as a recession, higher interest rates, persistent inflation, and the federal government deficit. Instead, they are excited about the likelihood that

Ed Yardeni

The US Economy Remains Bullish

Jan 25, 2024 2 min read paid

One day, there will be a recession. It just didn't happen in 2022 or 2023, as was widely predicted. The best growth rates in real GDP over this two-year period occurred during the final two quarters of 2023 at 4.9% and 3.3% (chart). Real GDP rose 2.5% during 2023 following 1.9% during 2022. (Several economists got the magnitudes right, but the signs wrong.) We

Ed Yardeni

Short-Term Caution Signs

Jan 24, 2024 2 min read paid

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose to fresh record highs today. That's great. Not so great is that bullish sentiment remains high. The two bull/bear ratios we monitor remain elevated (chart). From a contrarian perspective, that's bearish. Today's put/call ratio was relatively low at 0.67 (chart). From a contrarian perspective that's bearish too. The price of

Ed Yardeni

Dr Ed's Video Webcast 1/24/24

Jan 24, 2024 1 min read paid

Now that investors’ recession fears have abated, they’re focusing on company fundamentals again, so good corporate news is having a stronger bullish impact. Additionally, investors are excited about the potential of AI and the prospect of Fed easing. The possible result: an exuberant meltup phase, which might already be under way and might become irrational. … Unless Fed Chair Powell stresses that he’s in no rush to ease, a

Ed Yardeni

Huge Negative Wealth Effect In China

Jan 23, 2024 2 min read

China might be in a recession or going into one. That’s a controversial statement since real GDP rose 5.2% y/y during Q4-2023, according to the official data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS). The NBS also reported that industrial production rose 6.8% y/y in December and that inflation-adjusted retail sales increased 7.7% last month (chart). Those are not recession readings. China’

Ed Yardeni

38,000

Jan 22, 2024 2 min read paid

The DJIA rose to a new record high of 38,001.81 today (chart). The DJTA is lagging behind the DJIA and remains below its record high. We are expecting that the DJTA will soon confirm the bullish trend of the stock market by rising to a new record high too. In extended trading, United Airlines rose more than 6% after reporting strong Q4 results. Investors are anticipating that Q4

Ed Yardeni

Market Call: Three Scenarios

Jan 21, 2024 2 min read

We now see three possible historical precedents for the economy, the Fed, and the stock market's performance ahead: (1) The 1920s (with a subjective probability of 60%). This is our base case "Roaring 2020s" scenario. We've been discussing it since the start of the current decade. Our basic premise is that a chronic shortage of labor is forcing companies to use technological innovations to

Ed Yardeni

The Week Ahead: January 22 - 26

Jan 20, 2024 2 min read

The week ahead should be another good one for our "immaculate disinflation" scenario. December's Index of Coincident Economic Indicators (Mon) probably rose to another record high (chart). Payroll employment rose to a new high last month. Real personal income and real business sales of goods probably did the same. Production upticked in December. The Index of Leading Economic indicators has been misleadingly pessimistic since December 2022.

Ed Yardeni