Good morning. Though there has been a decline in the last hour or so, markets are little changed as investors digest more news on the inflation front. The Core PCE (short for the much longer “Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index”), long said to be the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, matched expectations, and with a slight increase remains above their target rate. Still, our economic engine continues to chug along with consumer spending “solid” … according to FactSet … as shoppers have yet to go into hibernation. A tariff announcement has not resulted in much concern this morning, though it does appear some pharmaceutical companies that do not manufacture in the U.S. … and have not “stockpiled” inventory in preparation … might get hit fairly hard by the claimed 100% tariff on pharmaceutical imports. Which companies, and to what degree, remains to be seen. TikTok, of course, will remain … as a couple of U.S.-based investors are taking a bit of it over and the U.S. government is also profiting from the recent adjustment. Even so, there is an interesting article below where the author contemplates if U.S. recent monetary demands and/or forced partnerships should be considered “extortion” … as firms need to pay the price or just not do business here. Meanwhile, the modest inflation number rise … along with an economy that does not seem to presently need too much fixing … brought a decline in the FedWatch probability of two rates cuts this year as it presently stands at 60% … as sharp drop from last week’s 82% view. I have two more stories to share this fine morning … one unfortunate (in my view) and the other quite relaxing. If you recall the eaglets being hatched (and born) and shown to the world via a webcam set up in Big Bear Valley, California, the link below (sent to me from a dear friend) should be right up your alley, as it has a variety of live webcams showing pandas, gorillas, fish … and maybe even a few portfolio managers (though I am not sure what they feed them). And on a final note for today … profiteering … NIL wasn’t enough, now we have the NCAA possibly allowing advertisers to have patches placed on college uniforms … rumored to be able to raise massive amounts of funds for the bigger programs (again leaving small schools in the dust). I just don’t know. With advertising on uniforms, 87 commercials before the end of the first half and betting odds proudly projected after every single play … it is getting a bit tiring. I watch a game as an escape from life and corporate America for a few hours. This no longer seems possible. Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
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