Consumer Staples

August PPI reading came in at 8.3%. Naturally, many investors are wondering whether the companies will be able to pass their soaring input costs to the customers. An in-depth analysis of margins and pricing power requires a significant research effort. However, below are some examples illustrating…

Today we take a close look at the historical GICS1 level performance following the taper event in 2013.  Chart 1 provides an overview of a price action of the 10-year US Treasury yield, the US dollar, and gold to provide context, while Charts 2 - 4 summarize performance of the S&P…

Highlights Our willingness to spend money depends on which ‘mental account’ it occupies. Once windfall income enters our ‘savings mental account’, we will not spend it. Hence, the pandemic’s windfall income receipts will have no sustained impact on spending, or on inflation. This means that US…

Highlights Earnings season was impressive, with 87% of companies beating analyst earnings expectations. Analysts’ targets were too low because a whopping 38% of companies provided negative forward guidance for the Q2-2021 results. The markets expect 12-17% earnings growth over the next 12…

Highlights Going into the new crop year, we expect the course of the broad trade-weighted USD to dictate the path taken by grain and bean prices (Chart of the Week). Higher corn stocks in the coming crop year, flat wheat stocks and lower rice stocks will leave grain markets mostly balanced vs…

Foreword Today we are publishing a charts-only report focused on the S&P 500 and its sectors. Many of the charts are self-explanatory; to some we have added a short commentary.  As with the styles Chart Pack, published a month ago, the sector charts cover macro, valuations,…

S&P Soft Drinks: Timing The Underweight…