Good morning.
Like in-laws visiting around the holidays, this inflation thing does not seem to be going away any time soon as the CPI (Consumer Price Index) posted this morning was higher than anticipated … resulting in investors driving down stocks at the open. Things drifted into positive territory for a while but screens have turned red … and decidedly so … negating a portion of yesterday’s sharp gains.
The issue is that investors seemed more hopeful in recent days that the Fed’s attempt to tame inflation was working … and this morning’s report might have turned some smiles into frowns.
Meanwhile, the Fed’s target of 2% inflation? Torsten Slok Apollo doesn’t see this happening any time soon … and they don’t seem to be alone.
Up until this morning, the greatest number of survey respondents felt that at the upcoming May meeting (which is the next one) the Fed would be announcing a hike … and it would be the last for a while. It will be interesting to see the next survey … as we suspect this timeframe will be pushed out a bit.
So all the “blah, blah, blah” (an economic term) I listed above is just my way of pointing out the uncertainty we are now experiencing … and one thing Wall Street hates, is uncertainty.
Confirming this, Market Desk Research sees sharp economic decline for the first two quarters of this year … even as BofA tells us forecasts for recession seem to be coming down. What does Goldman Sachs Research feel about recession? This group characterizes the recessionary outcome as “low probability.”
Uncertainty? Yes. And we have it in spades.
I found a couple of things quite interesting this morning.
First, it appears there has been great success seen in the battle against cancer … as American Cancer Society reports a sharply lessening rate of deaths over the past few decades.
So, what is the problem? I included one story below where a cancer drug recipient is facing (sit down for this one) a bill of $50,000/week for a life-prolonging drug. When does it get to be a choice between bankruptcy vs. survival (for yourself or a family member)? Maybe in some future year the movie “Soylent Green” will no longer be considered fantasy.
The final note below is just as scary … as it deals with “super cows” that have been “cloned.”
You may recall that “Dolly the Sheep” was cloned back in 1996. At some point you know that the attempt will be made with humans (if it hasn’t already been done).
Funny thing about sheep. I read it takes 7 of them to make a sweater.
I didn’t even know they could knit.
Have a great day,
Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA
Vice President
Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC
610 Freedom Business Center Drive
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Direct: (610) 285-9905
cell: (856) 625-7915
wit@teamemerald.com
#vaccinatetosave
As of 11:58 AM today …
Oh my … the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) came in higher than anticipated, painfully reminding us that the rising prices we’ve been seeing is not a figment of our imagination (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/consumer-price-index-january-2023-.html
… but even if prices did not rise for certain items … they are still unaffordable. $50,000 a week for a cancer drug? Good luck paying that bill (NPR)
We knew this day would come … but have to stay on our toes just the same … as “robotaxis” are now allowed on some public roads in California. We’ll see how this experiment goes (CNBC)
… but automatically goes far beyond transportation as there are now podcasts produced entirely by Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) (DailyTechNewsShow)
https://dailytechnewsshow.com/2023/02/13/will-a-i-replace-podcasters-dtns-4456/
It’s Valentine’s Day … but it seems valentines are more likely than ever to be girlfriends or boyfriends rather than spouses … as marriage rates continue to declinee (USAToday)
Look out in the field … it’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s “super cow!” It was only a matter of time before scientists started to clone other animals … especially if desired traits exist (BGR)
https://bgr.com/science/chinese-scientists-have-successfully-cloned-super-cows/
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The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.
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