Reuters (December 13)
“Conflict in the Middle East added geopolitical uncertainty to a luxury industry outlook already clouded by inflation, with shoppers in the U.S. and Europe tightening their purse strings while expectations for a strong post-pandemic rebound in China were derailed by a property crisis” On top of all that, Bergdorf Goodman and other high end retailers are already discounting adding to “concern that a lackluster Christmas could lead to inventory gluts – potentially dragging labels into a discounting spiral that would cheapen their image.”
Tags: Bergdorf Goodman, China, Christmas, Clouded, Discounting, Europe, Geopolitical uncertainty, Inflation, Inventory gluts, Lackluster, Luxury, Middle East, Outlook, Property crisis, Shoppers, Tightening, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (December 12)
“Investors spent most of 2023 fretting about inflation and interest rates. Now they are snapping up everything from stocks and bonds to crypto and even gold.” Does the “simultaneous surge across assets” signal “the arrival of a lasting bull market” or is it “just a fleeting sugar high at the end of the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle?” Opinions are divided.
Tags: 2023, Bonds, Bull market, Crypto, Cycle, Fed, Fleeting, Fretting, Gold, Inflation, Interest rates, Investors, Stocks, Surge, Tightening
Reuters (July 21)
“Worries over a global slowdown are casting a shadow over Asia’s recovery prospects with factory activity growth slowing in Japan and Australia, keeping pressure on policymakers to support their economies while tightening monetary policy to combat inflation.”
Tags: Asia, Australia, Factory activity, Global slowdown, Inflation, Japan, Monetary policy, Policymakers, Recovery, Slowing, Support, Tightening, Worries
The Economist (May 28)
Signs suggest “America’s markets are entering a new, more worrying phase.” Falling share prices could initially be attributed to the Federal Reserve’s policy moves, but “in recent weeks share prices have kept falling, even as bond yields have dropped back,” a combination suggesting recession. “Indeed, the mix of Fed tightening, slowing gdp and rising production costs has the ominous feel of the later stages of a business cycle. The expansion is barely two years old. Yet investors are already worried that corporate profits are under threat.”
Tags: Bond yields, Business cycle, Expansion, Falling, Fed, GDP, Investors, Markets, Ominous, Production costs, Profits, Recession, Share prices, Signs, Tightening, U.S., Worried, Worrying
Financial Times (October 8)
“High levels of inflation could last longer than expected, senior central bankers in Europe have warned, signalling that persistent supply-chain bottlenecks and soaring energy costs could advance a tightening of monetary policy.”
Tags: Bottlenecks, Central bankers, Energy costs, Europe, Expected, Inflation, Persistent, Supply chain, Tightening, Warned
Inc (September Issue)
The Inc. 5000 is “our annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies…. Only this year, the road ahead looks very different. Picture K2, only with more avalanches and less oxygen.” But their response may surprise. “At presstime, only 11 percent had cut staff since March, while 47 percent were landing talent let loose by others.” Though there has been belt tightening, “their eyes got bigger. More than 40 percent of honorees say current conditions make it more important than ever to scale quickly. Just 10 percent feel it would be best to slow down.”
Tags: Avalanches, Fastest-growing, Inc. 5000, K2, Private, Ranking, Scale quickly, Slow down, Staff, Talent, Tightening
Investment Week (November 18)
The Fed’s “180-degree policy U-turn…from tightening to loosening interest rates” has “increased uncertainty about monetary policy.” Another factor exacerbating matters is “the unpredictable and escalating trade war between the US and China.” Combined, they have “resulted in a higher frequency of volatility spikes and some violent sector rotation.”
Tags: China, Fed, Interest rates, Loosening, Monetary policy, Tightening, Trade war, U-turn, U.S., Uncertainty, Unpredictable, Volatility
Institutional Investor (March 16)
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve. Not because anybody expects them to change interest rates at today’s meeting, but because everybody wants a glimpse of the future. “Concerns over volatility around the globe and fragility in some sectors, notably energy and industrials, suggest that the Fed may signal a moderation of the pace of tightening…. A slower path for rates seems plausible as core inflation appears to be manageable.”
Tags: Concerns, Core inflation, Energy, Fed, Fragility, Industrials, Interest rates, Moderation, Tightening, Volatility
Institutional Investor (November 12)
“So far all comments from ECB policymakers have raised dovish expectations for the December meeting, while in the U.S. the Federal Reserve is widely expected to begin tightening. As a result, many analysts now see the macro setup for the dollar versus the euro as a catalyst to retest levels reached in the spring.”
Tags: Analysts, Catalyst, Dollar, Dovish, ECB, euro, Expectations, Fed, Policymakers, Tightening, U.S.
Institutional Investor (July 23)
However you look at it, “positive inflation momentum is apparent” in the U.S. From the top down, unemployment has fallen. As slack lessens, “we may begin to see signs of this tightening appear in the form of wage growth.” And from the bottom up, there were “multiple factors that pushed inflation lower over the past 12 to 18 months: predominantly, disinflation from medical and core goods components.” But these were driven by unique events like the sequester and the strength of the U.S. dollar. “Neither the medical nor the core goods component is likely to be a drag on inflation going forward.”
Tags: Core goods, Disinflation, Dollar, Drag, Inflation, Medical, Momentum, Sequester, Slack, Tightening, U.S., Unemployment, Wage growth
