'3-peats' never happen outside of recessions. We now have such a case. |
(T)hat's not a recession-maker, but it's a pinch nonetheless - it means a little less steak and a lot more bologna, fewer outings to the nightclub and perhaps one less vacation on the cruise line (but maybe more time at the blackjack table). |
(W)hat we are likely to see in Germany is the best year for consumer spending in a half decade. As a measure of how much pent-up demand there is in Germany, the average age of the auto fleet is at a record eight years. |
[If he and the homebuilding executives are assessing the market correctly, investors will do well to sell into the Katrina-inspired rally and lock in gains. And anyone thinking of buying a house now may wish to think again.] The market is as vulnerable today as the last time we had this stretched affordability in 1989, ... It might not be on the same par as the equity bubble in the late '90s, but it's not far off. |
A Bush win is good for asset managers but bad for life insurance companies. |
A sharp double-digit drop in natural gas prices and a decline in fuel oil and electricity prices drive our call. |
A year ago, 'deflation' was dripping off everybody's lips. Today, core inflation is off its low, but it's about the same as it was a year ago, yet all anybody can talk about is how far the Fed will hike. |
Although an inverted yield curve does not always imply an economic recession, it has predicted a profit recession 100 per cent of the time. |
As for the employment report, I think there's a danger of overreacting over the message from it because this was the third warmest January in the past 112 years. |
As the economy continues to slow and inflation remains benign we expect the Fed will be in easing mode by the second half. |
Bizarre is not a strong enough word. We've never seen productivity growth this strong headed into the fifth year of a business expansion. |
Companies will eventually run out of ways to squeeze more efficiency from the existing workforce. When that happens, they'll step up the pace of hiring. |
Confidence declines of this magnitude typically happen around 'shocks' or 'events,' ... We don't really know what the 'shock' was this time around, but maybe we'll find out when [the] non-farm [payroll report] is released on [Friday]. |
Corporate America is just a productivity machine. Non-farm businesses were able to boost their output at a 3.5 percent annual rate and cut payroll hours at an over 2 percent rate. So 40 percent of the productivity increase came from the backside of the workforce. |
Energy and raw material demand in China has been one of the key drivers behind the strength in commodities. If China is raising rates and trying to slow growth, then we may see some tempering in those pressures. |