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Economy

S&P500 closes lower for fourth day as recession fears biteThe S&P500 index closed yesterday at its lowest point in four days following a steady decline as investors in American stocks concern themselves with the possibilities of a recession. The prestigious index which contains some of Wall Street's most heralded blue chip giants lost 1.44% to close at 3,941.26, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 2% to finish at 11,014.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 350.76 points, or 1.03%, to settle at 33,596.34. The majority of the losses in this week's retraction in US stock values have been caused by bank stocks as well as shares in some media companies, which is perhaps in line with the concern about exposure to unserviceable debt by individuals and businesses should a recession bite. Investment banks are taking a cautious stance, and Morgan Stanley this week released news that it plans to make redundancies amounting to approximately 2% of its workforce, and whilst inflation in the United States has actually decreased and is now standing at around 7.7%, it is well over 10 in the UK and in some parts of Europe, where many large American corporations have substantial operations and have to fork out more capital to keep pace with the increasing price of everything from materials to logistical costs and wages. When considering yesterday's declines, the S&P is now down 3.2% this week and the NASDAQ has decreased in value by 3.9%. The Federal Reserve is still looking at interest rates and has taken a very conservative approach, but it appears that analysts and investors have not ruled out the possibility of a recession taking place across the United States in 2023, even if it is not likely to be to the same extent as the impending recessions in Europe and the United Kingdom. Disclaimer: This forecast represents FXOpen Companies opinion only, it should not be construed as an offer, invitation or recommendation in respect to FXOpen Companies products and services or as financial advice.
FRED:SP500
by FXOpen
Bond Market Signals Potential Trouble for the Federal ReserveIn recent weeks, the bond market has been sending a strong signal to the Federal Reserve: it may be making a serious mistake. The yield curve, which measures the difference in interest rates between short-term and long-term bonds, is currently more inverted than it has been since the early 1980s. An inverted yield curve occurs when short-term interest rates are higher than long-term interest rates. This can be a cause for concern because it can indicate that investors are expecting economic growth to slow in the future. When investors expect the economy to slow, they are less likely to lend money for long periods of time, leading to higher interest rates on short-term bonds and lower interest rates on long-term bonds. The current yield curve inversion has many experts worried. In the past, an inverted yield curve has often been a reliable predictor of a recession. In fact, every recession in the past 50 years has been preceded by an inverted yield curve. One reason for the current inversion may be the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate hikes. The Fed has raised interest rates several times in recent years in an effort to prevent the economy from overheating. However, these rate hikes may have had the unintended consequence of slowing economic growth. Despite the potential risks, experts believe that the current yield curve inversion may not be as concerning as it seems. They argue that other factors, such as the strong job market and low unemployment rate, suggest that the economy is still in good shape. In the end, only time will tell if the bond market's concerns are justified. However, the Federal Reserve will need to closely monitor the situation and be prepared to take action if necessary to prevent a potential recession.
FRED:T10Y2Y
by JoelWarby
2
HY-IG OAS Spread Significant Negative CorrelationHY= high yield option adjusted spread IG= investment grade option adjusted spread HY-IG Option Adjusted Spread showing significant inverse/negative correlation to the S&P500. When the HY-IG spread (white) rises we see the S&P500 (yellow) fall. The inverse is also true. Spread is currently trending down and SPX is rising which could be indicative of a short term shift towards a ‘risk on’ sentiment. Were the HY-IG spread’s trend to shift directions from down to up, we could infer that SPX would shortly after begin to trend in the opposite direction based on recent behavior. (not financial advice)
FRED:BAMLH0A0HYM2Education
by Firewalker_Charts
Is the US Economy Actually adding more jobs than expected?If you have been living under a rock for the past few days, unless you are not an economic savvy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its newest Non-Farm Payrolls much above the expectation. The NFP rose by 263,000 last month, compared with an expected 200,000. At first, my reaction was that the FED will have to keep raising interest rates, especially as the US dollar reacted to this news by jumping 0.8%. However, I was skeptical as to how NFP jobs increased but the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7% in an economy that is starting to experience drawdowns from inflation. So I made a research to analyze exactly what is going on. 1. What is happening in the US labor market? Today the NFP is at ~270,000 jobs, similar to mid-2018 when the labor market was defined as strong. It is much lower than the peak job creation in 2021 but 70,000 extra jobs compared to the expectation is a major difference. 2. What is happening with wage growth in the US labor market? Wage growth has increased by 0.6% month-over-month. This is way too strong for the FED's target of 2% in inflation. But why is it so high? Well, one of the reasons is that the supply of labor is not coming back. The participation rate remains way below pre-pandemic levels, even when accounting for an aging population. So if labor participation is low, job creation must be low to slow inflation, yet, the labor market appears to be healthy. Nonetheless, I wrote an analysis in October challenging the FED's data collection on job creation. "Once consumers have reached their credit limit, they will most likely look for another job. “About 38% of American workers have looked for a second job, while an additional 14% plan to” (LA Time, 2022). This justifies the reasons for more job creation in the U.S. economy as emphasized by the Biden Administration and the Fed, however, it is mostly people looking for a second or third job." Credit debt is increasing at an all-time high due to inflation. "U.S. households are spending $445 more every month due to inflation" (Lacurci G, 2022). So those who cannot keep up with their bills have to work more jobs or extra time. This makes total sense, especially when the Household Job Survey shows no jobs added in the past 8 months, while the Establishment Survey shows 2.7 million jobs added, which is the one used by the FED. Why such a large difference between the Household Job Survey and Establishment Survey? The answer lies in how the different surveys are run. For instance, the household survey counts people holding multiple jobs as one employed person. While the establishment survey counts all the jobs created, even if it is a second or third job. Based on the analysis I previously published, at least 700,000 Americans have had a second or third job in the last 12 months to make ends meet. 3. Where are jobs being created and lost? Being created: leisure, government, education, and healthcare. Being lost: goods, transportation, retail, construction, and utilities. Conclusion: The NFP survey is informing the market about Powell's next decision in December. The strong nominal wage growth and "strong" job creation argue there could be further rate hikes and hawkish talk from grandfather Powell. It is imminent before we will start to see weaknesses in the labor market. It is imperative to understand when will the turnover point of the labor market be and how bad to best position yourself, hence, we can start to see a FED pivot in early 2023 as the labor market weakens. This is for personal recording but feel free to comment and argue.
ECONOMICS:USNFP
by ssavi
USIRYY: Inflation has peaked. Fed Pivot incoming? I'm not a macroeconomics guru or T.A. guru, and these charts are weird considering the only timeframe we have access to is the monthly line chart +. USIRYY has wicked into the golden pocket + 1.618 fib extension with Monthly RSI going into overbought territory + Monthly MACD cross. I'd be a lot more confident about inflation topping with one more pump to the upside tagging the 1.618 fib at 9.5% with monthly bearish divergence on both MACD on RSI. Regardless, I believe inflation is topping around this area, 8-10%.
ECONOMICS:USIRYYShort
by CrashWhen
2