Despite the Fed tightening economic conditions, the economy has continued to power ahead, fueled by consumers with large excess savings. However, the dynamic is beginning to shift moving into the second half of the year
We are starting to see cracks in the consumer as rates become felt throughout the economy, particularly for those most exposed to inflation
Just in time for student loan repayments to begin..
While inflation has largely benefitted equities as they have been able to pass through prices to consumers, this dynamic is likely to shift moving into the second half of the year
Which will continue to put pressure on the rate of layoffs, whose velocity tends to feed on itself
Just as everyone is getting comfortable going long equities again, there is a potential trap ahead. Could equities continue to rally from here? Sure, meltups are common into a recession. But before you go all-in QQQ calls, be mindful of what is ahead.
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In a prolonged period of sustained low-interest rates and consistent economic growth, private equity/private credit has performed phenomenally. Funds can leverage investments incredibly cheaply, juicing returns.
Because the assets are mark-to-book with an ever-increasing flow of new money, there appears to be very little volatility. The response from investors has been to steadily increase allocations into the asset class, chasing ‘low volatility’ and outsized returns.
But what happens to the business model when interest rates spike and growth slows?
A few thoughts on what has occurred over the past month.
First, there should be no head-scratching as to why the market rallied in the way that it did.
The Fed effectively released the floodgates of liquidity.
Unfortunately, it was too late to save many pods and hedge funds that were swiftly marked for death following an unprecedented level of rate volatility related to the banking crisis bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Massive liquidity entering the system combined with collapsing managers being forced to buy back short-tech positions with just a sprinkle of optimism surrounding inflation decelerating, lead to a rocket ship rally in tech
Portfolio management is quite dull most of the time - even if you are a high-frequency quant trader. It tends to be a ton of work, with very little actual "trading".
Bottoms-up fundamental shops spend thousands of hours pouring over financial statements, modeling and meeting with management teams to try and find an edge
Macro strategists spend thousands of hours studying economics, politics, and world events. Then they create models around different relationships and variables - all before thinking about putting a trade on.
As we enter the new year, many reports have emerged that could be considered anomalous, such as retail sales and payrolls. However, the recent Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) number has brought into focus the message of the #bigflip.
While many pundits have suggested that the current inflationary cycle is a short-lived phenomenon that will transition away, the reality is quite different.
Inflation is becoming more entrenched with every passing day. With wage gains now firmly embedded in the economy, the Federal Reserve will have to take action to shock the business cycle into layoffs.
The market has priced in, with virtual certainty, that the Fed will raise 25bps next week. So then, the real question becomes, what will Powell's language be like?
Powell has been quite consistent in his "higher for longer" messaging, which is consistent with the dot-plot. Another way to look at this is the Fed is focusing less on the velocity of hikes and more on the duration
Market participants have forgotten their oft-used mantra of "don't fight the Fed" when it has negative implications for risk assets and are playing a dangerous game in predicting that the Fed will lower rates into year-end