Labor Costs Lead Core Inflation by 6 Months Historically, U.S. labor costs have been a good leading indicator of core inflation, because when labor costs rise, companies tend to increase their prices. Image: Legg Mason
Seasonal Effects in the S&P 500 This interesting chart shows the seasonality of the S&P 500. This year, the S&P 500 is well above its historical average. Image: Commodity Seasonality
Heavy Truck Sales as Recession Indicator Historically, before recessions, heavy truck sales tend to peak (red arrow) and then decline (black arrow). Currently, heavy truck sales have a nice upward slope and show no sign of peaking. So, it suggests that there is no imminent recession on the horizon. You may also like “U.S. Heavy…
Gold Has Crushed the S&P 500 So Far Since 2000 Gold has returned a great 345.30 percent, while the S&P 500 has returned 146.57 percent since 2000. Keep in mind that Gold has beaten the US stock market over multiple time periods Historically, Gold has also had a strong negative correlation with the US stock…
The Short Interest in the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) to Lowest Since Late 2017 Is it a contrarian indicator? Only time will tell… The market is strong and historically, the 3rd year of a president’s term is positive (91% of the time since 1925). Source: Hedgopia
How Have Real Personal Consumption Expenditures Declined Ahead Of Every Recession? Consumer spending drives the US economy. Historically, Real Personal Consumption Expenditures, which accounts for about 70% of GDP, decline before a recession. That’s not the case today. So, a recession may not be imminent in this late-cycle expansion.
Does Surging Oil Prices Cause Recession? Historically, a rise oil prices can cause recession because high inflation tends to lead to higher interest rates. But nowadays, oil shale production in the US limits the rise in oil prices and makes it possible to avoid a future crisis like the one in 2008.
How’s the U.S. Economy Doing Now? The real GDP Nowcast relies on soft data such as consumer and business surveys and hard data such as retail sales and industrial production. It forecasts the growth of real GDP. At full employment, GDP returns to the level of potential GDP. If a recession were to occur today,…
Real Three-month Yield vs. Recessions Historically prior to every recession, the three-month yield exceeded inflation by almost 200 basis points since 1960. Today, the real three-month yield (adjusted for inflation) is just above zero. If history helps us to predict the future, then this cycle should not end any time soon. Source: Bloomberg, Myron Scholes
US Yield Curve Inversion and Recessions This interesting chart shows the US yield curve inversion (10y-2y spread) and recessions. Historically, by ending the rate hiking cycle before an inversion, the expansion has still some legs and the next recession is postponed. Source: J.P. Morgan Asset Management “Guide to the Markets” for Q2 2019
Real GDP vs. Real Fed Funds Rate One of our most favorite charts is the real GDP vs. the real Fed funds rate (adjusted for inflation). Historically, recessions begin when the real Fed Funds rate exceeds GDP growth. We are far from that today. So, this cycle should not end any time soon. Real Fed…