He told Congress today that he’s not rushing into rate cuts until he can put that sign “Mission Accomplished” on the ship. Markets are listening and finding nothing new to trade on today. They’re just relieved.
A study by the Atlanta Fed pointed to more US workers getting a pay freeze in the LTM. So, if companies won’t pay more for labor…then will they stop raising our prices? I started putting my foot down on restaurant bills in the past year or so when small green salads became $20, and $10 pasta became $35. With three teenage athletes, thank you, Costco and Trader Joes. May you live long and prosper. Looking for furniture? A friend called, and I turned her onto Home Depot. Yep, you can get some drywall and a table with chairs there now.
Like Boss Hog roping in supporters, the US gov is pressuring allies (we’re lookin at you, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea and Japan) to keep tightening restrictions on China’s access to semi tech. For example, they’re pressuring the Netherlands to pressure ASML from servicing and repairing sensitive chipmaking equipment that the Chinese bought before the restrictions went into place. They want Japan to pressure Japanese co’s to limit exports of specialized chemicals needed for their processes. That’s gotta suck. Feel bad for the CFOs of companies missing their numbers. Can you say—well, the gov stopped us from making profits this quarter?
Per Reuters, investors continue to reverse positioning—getting real about Fed easing expectations because the economy is hopping along, and inflation is too. Gold doesn’t seem to care. It’s ready for that first-cut day, and it’s enjoying geopolitical tensions too.
Bob Iger is “extremely confident” about hitting streaming profit goals in 2024, per Bloomberg. So, if that’s why you’re invested in Disney, I guess you can stay long.
In case you missed the news yesterday, CrowdStrike is jumping due to improved earnings and guidance. So, tech should thank them this morning.
Clickbait? Sure. I clicked, even though a huge article at BBG with that title regarding US housing means that it can’t be hidden…yes, I understand the irony. It’s an article about the effects of climate change on housing, and how unprepared people and governments are. It blasts my state (CA), talking about how 11mm people live in high risk wildfire zones, and then lists them because they know the places are favorite travel destinations of readers. Yep, insurers are stopping coverage. State last resort insurance programs stepped in. It bashes FL too, so don’t get so smug down there. You too, CO. And if you get too sad after reading this, watch Gary Gulman’s stand-up bit on how folks decided on the two letter state abbreviations HERE.
Seems like investors want more than headlines. Yah, thanks Xi for targeting 5% growth. But what’s your plan? How are you going to get folks to spend again? That’s the beef that economists and investors are having for breakfast this week, per Bloomberg. China was up mixed overnight. The gov is saying that the PBOC has room for further cuts to the reserve requirement ratio and will push for financing costs to trend lower, but consumers seem to be keeping their cash in their wallets over in China.
I like Liz. But I see this stuff and say—so, what’s your point? Are you shorting now? Going long with the crowd? Let’s expect more of our financial pundits, ok? Otherwise, you just made me waste 10 seconds looking at this and then asking myself why you put it out. Clickbait? Multiply that with the hundreds of news stories and research reports coming at me each hour, and I want a better funnel—or at least, as my high school teacher would ask for, a “So What?”
Jealous of so many folks losing weight on Ozempic, Fidelity is cutting 9% of its staff. BlackRock had cut 3%. Should we blame AI? Or is this just regular culling?
