Rick Rieder Profile picture
May 12, 2020 6 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Both headline and core #CPI witnessed declines of -0.8% and -0.4% in April, the result of the dramatic #economic lockdowns across the country in response to the #CoronavirusPandemic, with particular weakness seen in airfares, hotels, used/new car prices and apparel.
While this data clearly illustrates the #disinflationary impact of locking down large segments of the #economy in an effort to gain control of the health crisis, there’s a danger in merely extrapolating recent trends.
In fact, we think 2020’s broad #deflationary influences may well lead to higher rates of #inflation next year.
That is at least in part due to the fiscal and #monetary policy response to the #economic crisis, which has been nothing short of monumental, and it should go some distance toward supporting #markets and #prices.
Further, even a modest re-setting of #oil prices over the next 18 months could drive 2021 #inflation in a manner that offsets some of the declines occurring now. Image
This is not to suggest that we see runaway #inflation coming down the road, we do not, but the #market’s pricing of inflation, at effectively zero, as breakeven #markets suggest, is unrealistic and excessively pessimistic.

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More from @RickRieder

Jul 12
A Deep Dive on Recent Data: While headline CPI data printed at -0.06% month-over-month and Core CPI printed at 0.06%, the real story of today’s CPI print lies in the services components. June represented another month of very low Core Services (ex-Shelter) readings, which has completely reversed the acceleration seen in the 1st quarter, and is now under the Fed’s 2% inflation target on a 3-month annualized basis 1/Image
Earlier this week @federalreserve Chair Powell delivered testimony before Congress that underscored the progress that’s been made in both bringing labor markets into better balance after the severe pandemic-era disruptions, and improvements achieved in taming the high inflation rates of that period as well- a narrative which today’s data continues to support. 2/
Looking at other inflation metrics, the Fed’s favored measure of inflation, core PCE, increased 0.08% in May, bringing the year-over-year figure for the measure to 2.57%, as of that month, while the @DallasFed’s trimmed mean measure of PCE inflation, printed at 2.79% year-over-year in May. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Jul 8
In a market that’s become obsessed with election results and the question of who will take on the job of leading some of the largest developed market countries, such as the U.S., France, and the U.K., last Friday we had a day of respite to focus on the broader employment picture for the U.S.
What that #JobsReport showed us was that while political officials seem to be extremely focused on their own employment prospects, there is a very gradual, but persistent, moderation within the broader employment picture.
After a stronger than expected May report that seemed to contradict some slowing in other employment indicators, such as the JOLTS, ISM, Claims, and ADP data, this recent report depicted what appears to be a more consistent trend of slowing, while still decent, labor demand.
Read 12 tweets
Jun 13
Why is the savings rate so low today? Debunking a common myth on ‘Excess Savings’…

There are several widely circulated ‘Excess Savings’ models that show the U.S. Consumer having spent down the above-normal savings accumulated during the pandemic. These models, which are ultimately only illustrative in nature, implicitly assume the natural Savings Rate is ~8% or higher. We believe those assumptions are far too conservative and fail to acknowledge the elevated levels of household wealth today. In fact, we would say that as compared to arguing all Excess Savings are depleted (orange line below) it is more reasonable to argue there has been no depletion of Excess Savings at all (purple line below). Of course, as with most things, the right answer is probably somewhere between the extremes and we believe it is best to look at a range of outcomes.

1/4Image
How could it be that Excess Savings have not been depleted at all? While many things can influence the Savings Rate (especially anything that affects consumer psychology in a big way), the primary driver in the U.S. over the past 40 years has been wealth (as measured by Net Worth/Disposable Income). It is intuitive that as households experience higher wealth, they feel less need to save. This relationship was crystal clear from 1985 – 2010. The post-GFC period saw a psychological shift towards higher savings, but the relationship returned once the economy finally recovered in 2018. For anyone wondering why the savings rate is so low today, look no further than the new highs in Net Worth/Disposable Income.

2/4Image
We can see this confirmed when looking at Household Deposits as well, which was brilliantly depicted by Cameron Crise from Bloomberg @markets. Household Deposits as a % of GDP remain well above trend and higher than anytime outside the pandemic in over 40 years. In conclusion, we believe that high levels of Net Worth/Disposable Income and still high levels of Household Deposits will allow for a lower natural Savings Rate and a stubbornly resilient U.S. Consumer.

3/4Image
Read 4 tweets
May 23
To elaborate on my interview last week on @BloombergTV, as well as my response to @elonmusk, a thread.

Restrictive policy rates have succeeded in slowing the rate-sensitive segments of the U.S. economy (including goods inflation), but a >5% Fed Funds rate is not doing much to slow the insensitive, services-oriented segments. In fact, given the unique historical context, we believe >5% cash rates are doing unnecessary damage to certain cohorts today and may even be supporting services inflation.

1/13Image
The @sffed visualized this very well in a recent analysis… the components of inflation that are “most responsive” to rates have completely normalized! It is the “least responsive” components that are responsible for the sticky inflation we are experiencing today... there is not much Fed policy rates can do about that.

2/13Image
It’s important to note that most of the “least responsive” components are in the services sector, which is a much larger share of the economy today than it has been historically.

It used to be that slowing the rate-sensitive, goods-oriented, sectors was sufficient to slow the entire economy; in today’s services economy that is not the case.

3/13Image
Read 13 tweets
Apr 10
Today’s much anticipated #CPI report provided greater detail on the current #inflation picture, and importantly, on what the @federalreserve is most focused upon these days, and unfortunately, it’s hard to see it as anything other than a #setback.
Recently, it has become clear that the #Fed is taking on a patient stance with regard to #inflation coming down, but today's report was further evidence that it may take even longer for inflation to finally reach the Fed’s 2% target level.
In fact, today’s data means #CorePCE on a year-over-year basis may not get to 2.5% at any point in 2024, and that’s with a wedge where #CoreCPI is running around 100 basis points higher. This meaningful surprise therefore forces us to reassess some views.
Read 15 tweets
Mar 13
Yesterday’s #CPI data was highly anticipated by #markets, and particularly whether the elevated shelter #inflation from last month’s data ended up being a quirky aberration within service level inflation that is still quite a distance from the Fed’s 2% intermediate-term target. Image
What compounded this quandary last month was a very strange divergence between the Owner Equivalent Rent (#OER) calculation and that for general #Rent.
Those two data points typically migrate closely together over time, with a maximum divergence of 9 basis points (bps) in 2023.
Read 15 tweets

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