CPI Edges Lower

Futures ripped higher on the news that July CPI came in 0.2% lower than expected on both the monthly and annual headline figures: 0.0% and 8.5%.  Core rose 0.3% and 5.9% – still well above the Fed’s so-called 2% target. Much has been made of the price drop seen in oil and gas since mid-June. … continue reading →

FOMC Day: Jul 27, 2022

Futures have ramped almost 1% overnight – a common occurrence lately, especially in advance of a Fed decision. Even the durable goods orders beat (a miss if you’re looking for the Fed to slow their rate hikes) did nothing to thwart the algo-driven meltup. continued for members… … continue reading →

Fast and Furious

Between an FOMC meeting, consumer confidence, GDP, durable goods, PCE, consumer sentiment, new home sales and a slew of important earnings calls, this week promises to be one of the most important so far in 2022. Somewhere in all that data we should learn whether the economy is really in a recession (spoiler alert: it … continue reading →

New Highs for CPI

CPI reached a new cycle high in June: 9.1% versus expectations of 8.8%. This is the highest print since November 1981. Core came in at 5.9%. Monthly prints were 1.3% headline and 0.7% core. The recent decline in oil and gas prices – although substantial – came too late to help mitigate June inflation. The … continue reading →

Inflation Reaches a New 40-Year High

CPI soared to a new 40-year high: 8.6% YoY and 1.0% MoM. Core also exceeded consensus, coming in at 6.0%. Futures are not amused, as this takes anything less than a 50 bps rate hike next week off the table. A 75 bps hike is suddenly a real possibility. Needless to say, our analog remains … continue reading →

Bullard Speaks

In a CNBC interview this morning, Fed President Jim Bullard said “Our credibility is on the line here…”  Anyone paying any attention to the Fed knows that that ship sailed a long time ago. Futures have been all over the map, down as many as 55 points before VIX was hammered following a false news … continue reading →

CPI Reaches New 40-Yr High

January headline CPI reached 7.5%, a new 40-yr high, sending the 10Y up over 2% for the first time since August 2019 when CPI registered 1.75%. As has been the trend since November, oil/gas no longer leads the way. Inflation has become widespread, higher than the Fed’s so-called 2% target in every category except, ironically, … continue reading →

COMP Signals More Pain Ahead

A little over a week ago, COMP made a hard bounce off its 200-DMA, gapping much higher the following day. Yesterday, it plunged below its 200-DMA and closed there – not a good sign for the bulls. continued for members… … continue reading →

Inflation Coming Home to Roost

We’ve been writing about the current inflation problem for years.  In December 2019 for instance [see: Inflation Games], we noted that CPI was about to top 2% again and that this realization had prompted the Fed’s shift from a 2% target to a range in excess of 2% to make up for past shortfalls. Without … continue reading →