Posts tagged ‘home sales’
From Hard Landing to Soft Landing to No Landing?
I haven’t received my pilot’s license yet, but in trying to figure out whether the economy is heading for a hard landing, soft landing, or no landing, I’m planning to enroll in flight school soon! With the Federal Reserve approaching the tail end of an aggressive interest rate hiking cycle, investors have been bracing for a hard landing. However, with near record-low unemployment (3.4%) and multi-trillion dollars in government stimulus still working its way through the system, others see an economic soft landing. More recently, economic data has been flying in at an accelerating pace, which could mean the economy will stay in the air and have no landing.
For those waiting for an imminent recession, it looks like there could be a delay. In other words, bearish pessimists may be waiting at the gate longer than expected. As you can see in the chart below, economists at the Atlanta Federal Reserve are currently forecasting economic growth (GDP – Gross Domestic Product) to increase to a respectable +2.8% rate for the first quarter.
How have investors been interpreting this confusing array of landing scenarios? The stock market has stabilized and risen since last October (S&P +13.7%) but has also hit a temporary air pocket last month (-2.6%). Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rebounded +13.9% since October, but pulled back further in February (-4.2%). As mentioned earlier, investors are having difficulty reading all the economic dials, instruments, and controls in the cockpit because there is no consensus on interest rates, inflation, economic growth, corporate earnings growth, and employment.
At the one end of the spectrum, you have a consumer who remains employed and willing to spend his/her savings accumulated during the pandemic. Case in point, air travel has hit pre-pandemic levels of 2019, despite business travelers staying at home conducting business on Zoom (see red line on chart below).
At the other end of the spectrum, we are witnessing the crippling effects that 7% mortgage rates can have on the $4 trillion real estate industry. As you can see from the chart below, sales of existing homes have plummeted at the fastest rate since the beginning of the 2008 Financial Crisis.
With all of that said, there is a consensus building that inflation is steadily coming down. Even the very skeptical and hawkish Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, acknowledged that the “disinflationary process has begun.” We can see that in this inflation expectation chart below (green line), which measures the average anticipated inflation over the next five years by comparing the difference in yields between the five-year Treasury Notes and the five-year TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protection Securities).
Although, currently, there are many financial crosswinds swirling, the good news is that in the near-term, the economy has been maintaining its elevation and there is no imminent sign of a hard landing. We certainly could face the potential of turbulence and changing weather conditions, but that is always the case when you invest in the financial markets. If, however, inflation continues to move in the same direction, and growth continues to surprise on the upside, there may be no landing at all. Under this scenario of maintaining a comfortable altitude, I guess I can put my pilot training on hold.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
This article is an excerpt from a previously released Sidoxia Capital Management complimentary newsletter (Mar. 1, 2023). Subscribe Here to view all monthly articles.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients hold positions in certain exchange traded funds (ETFs), but at the time of publishing had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC Contact page.
New Year, New Clean Slate
Stock and bond market returns in 2022 were disappointing, but we now get to start 2023 with a clean slate. Before we turned the page on another annual chapter, Santa Claus chose to finish last year by placing a lump of coal in investor stockings, as evidenced by the S&P 500 index decline of -5.9% during December.
Good News & Bad News
There is some good news and bad news as it relates to this year’s underwhelming stock market results (-19.4%). The bad news is last year turned out to be the 4th worst year in the stock market since World War II (1945) and also marked the worst year since 2008. Here’s a summary of the S&P 500’s worst years over the last eight decades:
2008: -38.5%
1974: -29.7%
2002: -23.4%
2022: -19.4%
Source: CNBC (Bob Pisani)
The good news is that the stock market is up 81% of the time in subsequent years following down years. The average increase in bounce-back years is +14%. In another study of down years, the analysis showed that after the stock market has fallen -20% or more, stock prices were higher on average by +15% one year later, +26% two years later, and +29% three years later. Nothing is guaranteed in life, but as Mark Twain famously stated, “History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
2022: The Year of No Shock Absorbers (Worst Bond Market Ever)
The stock market receives most of the media glory and reporting, however the bond market is the Rodney Dangerfield of asset classes, it “gets no respect.” Typically, during weak stock markets (i.e., “bear markets”), the bond or fixed income investments in a diversified portfolio act as shock absorbers to cushion the blow of volatile stock prices. More specifically, in a typical bear market, the economy generally slows down causing demand to decelerate, and interest rates to decline, which causes the values of bonds to increase. Therefore, as stock prices decline, the gains from bonds in your portfolio usually help offset stock losses. Unfortunately, this scenario didn’t happen in 2022, but rather investors experienced a double negative whammy. Not only did stocks experience one of its worst years in decades, the bond market also suffered what many pundits are describing as the “Worst Bond Market Ever” – see chart below.
Why in particular did bonds perform so poorly this year, when they commonly outperform in slow or recessionary economic conditions? For starters, interest rates spent most of 2022 increasing at the fastest pace in more than four decades (see chart below). An unanticipated rise in inflation was the main culprit, which was caused by spiking energy prices from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; COVID-related supply chain disruptions; unprecedented fiscal stimulus (trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending and incentives); record monetary stimulus (QE – Quantitative Easing); and extended years of ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy). For these reasons, and others, bonds collapsed in sympathy with deteriorating stock prices.
Room for Optimism in 2023
Last year was challenging, however, not all is lost. The Federal Reserve, inflation, interest rates, Ukraine, and cryptocurrency volatility (e.g., Bitcoin down -64% in 2022) dominated headlines this year, but many of these headwinds could abate or reverse in 2023. For example, there are numerous indicators pointing to peaking and/or declining inflation, which, if true, could create a tailwind for investors this year. Bolstering this argument are the current weakening trends we are witnessing in the housing market, which should ripple through the economy to cool inflation (see chart below).
And if it’s not declining home prices, lower energy prices have also filtered through the global economy to lower transportation and shipping costs (e.g., freight rates from China to West Coast are down -90%). What’s more, a stronger dollar has contributed to declining commodity prices as well.
Although inflation still has a long way to go before reaching the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate, broad inflation measures, such as the GDP Deflator, are showing a significant decrease in inflation (see chart below). By analyzing the various disinflationary tea leave markers, we can gain some confidence regarding future interest rates. Observing the fastest rate hike cycle by the Fed in decades informs us that we are likely closer to an end of rate hikes (i.e., pause or cut), rather than the beginning. If correct, tamer inflation means 2023 could prove to be a better environment for both stock and bond investors.
In summary, last year was painful across the board, but investors are starting this year with a clean slate and signs are pointing to a potential reversal in inflation and interest rate headwinds. With the change of the calendar, a messy 2022 could turn into a spick-and-span 2023.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
This article is an excerpt from a previously released Sidoxia Capital Management complimentary newsletter (Jan. 3, 2023). Subscribe on the right side of the page for the complete text.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients hold positions in certain exchange traded funds (ETFs), but at the time of publishing had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC Contact page.
Missing the Financial Forest for the Political Trees
In the never-ending, 24/7, polarizing political news cycle, headlines of Ukraine phone calls, China trade negotiations, impeachment hearings, presidential elections, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and other Washington based stories have traders and news junkies glued to their phones, Twitter feeds, news accounts, blog subscriptions, and Facebook stories. However, through the incessant, deafening noise, many investors are missing the overall financial forest as they get lost in the irrelevant D.C. details.
Meanwhile, as many investors fall prey to the mesmerizing, but inconsequential headlines, financial markets have not fallen asleep or gotten distracted. The S&P 500 stock market index rose another +1.7% last month, and for the year, the index has registered a +18.7% return. As we enter the volatile fourth quarter, many stock market participants remain shell-shocked from last year’s roughly -20% temporary collapse, even though the S&P 500 subsequently rallied +29% from the 2018 trough to the 2019 peak.
Why are many people missing the financial forest? A big key to the significant rally in 2019 stock prices can be attributed to two words…interest rates. Unlike last year’s fourth quarter, when the Federal Reserve was increasing interest rates (i.e., tapping the economic brakes), this year the Fed is cutting rates (i.e., hitting the economic accelerator). Interest rates are a key leg to Sidoxia’s financial four-legged stool (see Don’t Be a Fool, Follow the Stool). Interest rates are at or near generational lows, depending where on the geographic map you reside. For example, interest rates on 10-year German government bonds are -0.55%. Yes, it’s true. If you were to invest $10,000 in a negative yielding -0.55% German bond for 10-years starting in 2019, if you held the bond until maturity (2029), the investor would get back less than the original $10,000 invested. In other words, many bond investors are choosing to pay bond issuers for the privilege of giving the issuers money for the unpalatable right of receiving less money in the future.
The unprecedented negative-yielding bond market is reaching epic proportions, having eclipsed $17 trillion globally (see chart below). This gargantuan and growing dollar figure of negative-yielding bonds defies common sense and feels very reminiscent of the panic buying of technology stocks in the late 1990s.
Source: Bloomberg
At Sidoxia Capital Management, we are implementing proprietary fixed income strategies to navigate this negative interest rate environment. However, the plummeting interest rates and skyrocketing bond prices only make our bond investing job tougher. On the other hand, declining rates, all else equal, also make my stock-picking job easier. Nevertheless, many market participants have gotten lost in the financial trees. More specifically, investors are losing sight of the key tenet that money goes where it is treated best (go where yields are highest and valuations lowest). With many bonds yielding low or negative interest rates, bond investors are being treated like criminals forced to serve jail time and pay large fines because future returns will become much tougher to accrue. In my Investing Caffeine blog, I have been writing about how the stock market’s earnings yield (current approximating +5.5%) and the S&P dividend yield of about +1.9% are handily outstripping the +1.7% yield on the 10-Year Treasury Note (see Going Shopping: Chicken vs. Beef ).
Unless our economy falls into a prolonged recession, interest rates spike substantially higher, or stock prices catapult appreciably, then any decline in stock prices will likely be temporary. Fortunately, the economy appears to be chugging along, albeit at a slower rate. For instance, 3rd quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) estimates are hovering around +2.0%.
Low Rates Aid Housing Market
Thanks to low interest rates, the housing markets remain strong. As you can see from the chart below, new home sales continue to ratchet higher over the last eight years, and lower mortgage rates are only helping this cause.
Source: Calafia Beach Pundit
The same tailwind of lower interest rates can be seen below with rising home prices.
Source: Calculated Risk
Consumer Flexes Muscles
At 3.7%, the unemployment rate remains low and the number of workers collecting unemployment is near multi-decade lows (see chart below).
Source: Calafia Beach Pundit
It should come as no surprise that the more employed workers there are collecting paychecks, the more consumer confidence will rise (see chart below). As you can see, consumer confidence is near multi-decade record highs.
Source: Calafia Beach Pundit
Although politics continue to dominate headlines and grab attention, many investors are missing the financial forest because the political noise is distracting the irrefutable, positive effect that low interest rates is contributing to the positive direction of the stock market and the economy. Do your best to not miss the forest – you don’t want your portfolio to suffer by you getting lost in the trees.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
This article is an excerpt from a previously released Sidoxia Capital Management complimentary newsletter (October 1, 2019). Subscribe on the right side of the page for the complete text.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients hold positions and certain exchange traded funds (ETFs), but at the time of publishing had no direct position in any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC Contact page.
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