Inflation/Deflation

The “Gratuitous” 1994 Fed Tightening Cycle Is A Bad Analogue For Today

Many investors have cited the 1994 tightening cycle as an example of how the Fed managed to raise rates without triggering a recession. However, the unemployment rate was 6.5% in early 1994, which meant that inflation was less of a risk than it is today. Productivity growth also accelerated starting in the mid-1990s. While something similar may happen again thanks to AI, so far this is not visible in the aggregate productivity data.

2 years ago

Essentials

The Bank Of Canada Remains On A Dovish Path

The Bank of Canada (BoC) kept its policy rate steady at 5% for the sixth consecutive meeting yesterday, in line with expectations. The BoC, which has changed its communication policy to now provide a press conference after every meeting, reasserted the need…

2 years ago

Essentials

A Closer Look At February's US Services PMI

The US ISM Services PMI declined slightly to 52.6 in February, just below expectations of 53. Overall, the service sector continues to expand, however, the recent ISM suggests that growth is slowing down. In fact, most of the components of the ISM worsened,…

2 years ago

Essentials

The Fed Doesn't Need To Raise Rates To Cause A Large Hawkish Shock

We noted in a previous Insight that recent comments from Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, may reflect a growing realization among policymakers that they have inadvertently caused a significant easing in financial conditions.…

2 years ago

Essentials

Switzerland: Deflation Is Now The Risk

Swiss annual inflation continued to decelerate in February, with headline CPI now at 1.2% and core at 1.1%. This is remarkable since inflation continues to track well below the 1.8% forecast by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) for the first quarter. Import and…

2 years ago

Essentials

Easier Financial Conditions Have Made Their Way To "Main Street"

Economic sentiment has improved since the December FOMC meeting, with positive momentum extending into February. The chart above neatly summarizes the impact that the Fed’s projected easing has had on sentiment, both on “Wall Street” and “Main Street”. The…

2 years ago

CoreMacro

Risks To Our View

We feel as good about spurning the soft-landing narrative today as we did about spurning the recession narrative a year ago, but we are not giving into complacency. This week’s report looks at two key ways that we may be getting it wrong: by underestimating households’ asset support and the labor market’s durability. We remain tactically neutral but continue to look for opportunities to turn defensive.

2 years ago

Essentials

ISM Manufacturing PMI Relapses Yet Price Pressures Linger

The US ISM manufacturing PMI release for February disappointed consensus expectations. The headline index relapsed to 47.8 after climbing to a 15-month high of 49.1 in January, falling below expectations of a continued slowdown in the pace of contraction to…

2 years ago

Essentials

The ECB Needs Further Evidence That Inflation Is Heading To 2%

The preliminary Eurozone inflation release suggests that price pressures eased by less than anticipated in February. Headline CPI inflation slowed from 2.8% y/y to 2.6% y/y (slightly above expectations of 2.5% y/y. Similarly, although the core inflation gauge…

2 years ago

Portfolio

Monthly Portfolio Update: Recession Thesis Remains Intact

Amid patchy global growth, the US economy remains resilient. However, tight monetary policy will eventually trigger a recession in the US too. The stock market rally has been very narrow. Stay underweight risk assets.

2 years ago

Inflation/Deflation

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