As we begin 2024, the state of the consumer is a great place to start. As dedicated consumer spending-focused investors, the state of the consumer is an important variable to understand.
As we welcome in the new year of 2024, the inevitability of an economic downturn lingers on the horizon. The question isn’t if a recession will materialize, but rather when its shadow will cast itself upon us.
Sometimes, investors over-complicate the investment process. It’s important to remember to start with the long-term returns shown by markets and compare them to the shorter-term experience.
The producer price index (PPI) release, which generally reflects wholesale prices, which ultimately feed into consumer prices, was below estimates on all fronts this morning (including core).
There are many ways to track consumer and investor sentiment. Generally, only at extremes does the data offer very compelling investment opportunities.
Last week’s market surge carried the November rally forward, a momentum fueled by a significant repricing of interest rates in the bond market. Since the last Federal Reserve meeting, rates have taken a dramatic dip, sparking optimism in the market.
For months, investors have been scaling what feels like an endless wall of worry. Each concern that gets resolved seems to spawn new uncertainties, yet the market has continued its relentless climb higher.
We’ve lived this movie before. Last August, AAII bullish sentiment struck a 52-week high right before the Fed launched its September rate cutting cycle.