We saw the first signs of slowing real estate activity this week. April new home sales dropped 16.6% MoM and home builder surveys show an uptick in cancellations. This slowdown is needed to cool the economy and ease inflation. Rents (aka shelter) is over 40% of the core-CPI index, and we need easing house prices […]
Market Updates
The Earnings Shoe Dropped
The earnings shoe dropped this week following notable earnings misses by Walmart and Target. This led to a significant sell-off, as the market started to question the current estimates of robust earnings growth in 2022 (+10.2%) and 2023 (+10.1%). This also means that stock valuations aren’t as attractive as forward PE estimates suggest. The Fed […]
Bitcoin is Coming to Retirement Plans
Bitcoin is coming to 401(k) retirement plans as Fidelity hopes to offer access to the 23,000 plans it administers. This move by the largest plan administrator, with $2.7tn in plan assets, should drive long-term bitcoin adoption. It will not, however, change the bear market that is currently underway in many assets. The pain in crypto […]
US Housing Market Should Cool
US housing market should cool, due to spiking mortgage rates, but a 2008 type collapse is unlikely. The mortgage market has remained resolutely fixed rate during the current bull market, which underpins our sanguine outlook. Yes, there are signs of excess, but there’s no risk of monthly payment ballooning considering that variable rate funding is […]
Explosion of Crypto Legislation Proposals
There has been an explosion of crypto legislation proposals from US politicians. The bogeyman of late has been sanctions evasion, even though the Treasury Department has repeatedly said that there’s no sign of evasion via crypto. Many of these proposals are unlikely to see the light of day in current form in our polarized political […]