Inflation

Market Call: Another Rollercoaster Ride.

Jun 2, 2024 3 min read paid

Friday was another wild ride on the S&P 500 rollercoaster. At first, stock prices rose after April's PCED inflation rate released at 8:30 am matched expectations. But then they dropped after a recessionary reading in May's Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer at 10:00 am (chart). The unexpected decrease in the business barometer partly reflected a steep drop in the new orders index,

Ed Yardeni

Sunny Economy, Gloomy Dispositions

May 28, 2024 2 min read paid

Inflation is the number one economic concern among consumers today. It's also moderated significantly since the summer of 2022; the prices of durable goods are even deflating a bit. The labor market remains strong, boosting consumer spending. Stocks are at all-time highs. Yet, according to a recently released Fed survey, only 22% of Americans think the US economy is in good or excellent shape, down from 50% before

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

The Economic Week Ahead: May 28 - 31

May 27, 2024 3 min read

The economic indicators released during the shortened week ahead should confirm that economic growth remains solid and that inflation is continuing to moderate. Here's what we're watching this week: (1) PCED. The Cleveland Fed’s Inflation Nowcasting model shows headline and core PCED rose 2.68% and 2.74% y/y (0.27% and 0.23% m/m) last month (chart). That would be the lowest

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

Anatomy Of The Bond Yield

May 20, 2024 2 min read paid

We expect that the 10-year US Treasury bond yield will remain rangebound between 4.00% and 5.00% for the foreseeable future. We expect to see it more often below 4.50% (the mid-point of the range) than above it. This is consistent with our view that interest rates have normalized: They are back to where they were prior to the "Great Abnormal" period from the Great Financial

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

Bad News About Goods Is Good News For Bonds & Stocks

May 16, 2024 2 min read paid

The Dow is flirting with 40,000 currently, confirming that good news is good news and bad news is also good news for the stock market these days. That's because the bad news is also good news for the bond market. On balance, the news is that inflation is moderating and the economy is growing. Yesterday's April CPI report confirmed that inflation remains on course to

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

Inflation's Puzzle Pieces Painting Bullish Picture

May 15, 2024 2 min read paid

The S&P 500 rose to a new record high of 5308.15 following today's economic numbers. It could easily reach our yearend target of 5400 well ahead of schedule! For now, we are sticking with this target, as well as 6000 for 2025 and 6500 for 2026. That's consistent with our Roaring 2020s scenario (60% subjective probability). If the market continues its near-vertical ascent,

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

Good News on Inflation & Jobs Today

May 14, 2024 2 min read paid

Ed Yardeni
YRI Team

Monster Trucks With Monster Bills

May 7, 2024 2 min read

Since just before the pandemic during January 2020 through March of this year, the CPI indexes for new autos, auto maintenance & repairs, and auto insurance are up 21.0%, 34.8%, and 44.6% (chart). These all exceed the 20.6% increase in the headline CPI over this period. Why? Americans are buying lots more expensive light trucks than passenger cars. They cost more to buy, maintain, repair, and

Ed Yardeni

Stocks & Bonds Rally Despite Weak Productivity Report

May 2, 2024 2 min read

Go figure: Stocks & bonds sold off on Tuesday following a hotter-than-expected Q1 Employment Cost Index (ECI). It was up 5.4% q/q (saar) and 4.1% y/y. Today, they both rallied despite a hot Q1 unit labor costs inflation report. We agree with the markets' response to today's news because it is consistent with our view that inflation is still moderating when measured on

Ed Yardeni

Look For The Union Label In Latest ECI Inflation Rate

Apr 30, 2024 2 min read paid

Today's Employment Cost Index (ECI) for Q1 was another hotter-than-expect inflation report. It came out just as the FOMC started its latest meeting to discuss monetary policy. It increases the odds that Fed officials will sound more hawkish starting with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at his presser tomorrow following the meeting. Stocks sold off hard as the 2-year Treasury note yield rose back above 5.00% to 5.

Ed Yardeni

Lackluster Fed Regional Business Surveys

Apr 29, 2024 2 min read paid

We now have the regional business surveys conducted by five of the Federal Reserve district banks. The average of their general business conditions indexes closely tracks the national manufacturing purchasing managers index (M-PMI), which rose slightly above 50.0 during March following 16 consecutive monthly readings below this level (chart). The regional average index was still negative in April. So it has yet to confirm that the rolling recession in

Ed Yardeni

The Economic Week Ahead: April 29 - May 3

Apr 28, 2024 2 min read paid

This could be another action packed week as the Fed's meeting and the latest S&P 500 earnings reporting season take center stage. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold his press conference on Wednesday after the latest FOMC meeting adjourns. He is likely to reiterate that the FOMC is in no rush to lower interest rates, and isn't considering raising them either. That won'

Ed Yardeni

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