The Fed meets this week in what is likely to be a par for the course event. We’ll most likely hear more of the same, that the Fed is in “wait-and-see” mode. Undoubtedly, the addicts on Wall Street are looking for a dovish tone, but we don’t think they’ll be getting their wish…this time.
We are awash in debt: consumers, households, corporations, governments, you name it. Regulators always regulate the last crisis, not the next one. Is there a ticking time bomb in the corporate bomb market? We say yes, the piper wants paid and will be. The question is, how big will this problem be?
The Three Stooges are back! Sadly, we don’t mean Moe, Larry, and Curly, but rather Chair Jerome Powell, Aunt Janet Yellen, and Uncle Ben Bernanke. Why were they out? Is everything ok or is this an attempt to calm the markets? Then we have a small beat in retail and markets rally 2%, seriously!
A not-so-hot US jobs report for February, but some high points nonetheless. Then there’s the new dovish tone of the ECB and their 180-policy reversal. Is this the beginning of the end for these loose monetary policies and if so, where is the bottom for financial assets?
Is the ultimate deal-maker losing his touch? Of course we’re talking about “The Donald.” Despite making and attempting to make new trade deals, that are touted as the “best ever,” the data says otherwise. Tariffs, tricks, and talks, oh my – bigger deficits.
As the news cycle slows, where is the next catalyst to propel these markets to new heights?! We’re told everything is great, so why the pullback and the slowdown? Are we coming back to reality or will we stay in the land of Oz?
The Chinese government is out with its 2019 projections and they point to a continuation of slower growth. Is there something deeper and structural at the heart of this, which could reverberate globally, or just the run of the mill economic slowdown?
The Fed Chairman states that the US fiscal situation is unsustainable. Does he have any real advice? Does he have any real solution(s)? Hell no! While there are policies the Fed could enact to stop this fiscal insanity – they’d rather go along for the ride.
We finally received the 2018 Q4 GDP figures and while they beat expectations, we had a market sell-off today (3rd straight day). Where is the catalyst to propel these markets in a debt-bubble-filled world? Is the money printing enough or will we need more to continue this insanity?!
Global central banks are out of control and some continue to purchase equities and ETFs outright. If things are so good, why are these professional money-printers pumping up stocks? More data points to the downside – recession on the horizon?
