The Kobeissi Letter Profile picture
Dec 19, 2024 12 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Apollo with another HUGE call today:

Not only does Apollo see less rate cuts in 2025, but they are now calling for potential rate HIKES.

Today, Apollo officially said they see a 40% chance of rate HIKES returning in 2025.

Has the "Fed pivot" been canceled again?

(a thread)
The Fed officially made their 3rd interest rate cut of 2024 for 25 basis points.

This marks a total of 100 basis points of rate cuts in 2024 as inflation reaccelerates.

With all key metrics of inflation nearing or above 3%, a new question arises.

Are rate hikes coming back? Image
Apollo makes the case that the economy is strong and growth has been robust.

Over the past 2 quarters, US GDP growth has been 3.0% and 2.8%.

The Atlanta Fed expects GDP growth in the fourth quarter to be 3.2%, well above the CBO’s 2% estimate of long-run US growth. Image
Apollo notes that the strong economy, combined with the potential for lower taxes, higher tariffs, and restrictions on immigration, could spark inflation.

PCE inflation could rise by over 140 basis points due to tariffs, according to Deutsche Bank.

Higher prices are coming. Image
Recent data shows that inflation is already heading higher again.

3-month annualized core CPI inflation is now back up to an alarming 4%.

6-month annualized core CPI fell to 2.5% before rebounding back toward 3% now.

This is BEFORE tariffs and tax cuts are imposed. Image
PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, is trending sharply higher.

1-month annualized core PCE inflation is now at 3.5%+.

1-month, 3-month, and 6-month annualized core PCE inflation are ALL back on the rise here.

Tomorrow's data will show November's numbers. Image
Meanwhile, bond markets are trading like rate hikes already started.

In what Fed Chair Powell has called normal market "fluctuations," something does not add up.

The 10-year note yield is now up ~90 basis points since rate cuts began in September.

Markets are not convinced. Image
Meanwhile, oil prices are surging adding to the case for higher inflation in 2025.

Our premium clients bought the dip into $67, as shown in our alert below.

With inflation rebounding, we are trading.

Subscribe at the link below to access our analysis:

thekobeissiletter.com/subscribeImage
All while the US now has a record $36.2 TRILLION of Federal Debt.

Deficit spending has been highly inflationary and this is coupled with a potential government shutdown.

Treasury yields are rising as the US government is forced to issue trillions in bonds for deficit spending. Image
The Fed is clearly concerned despite the calm image they are trying to paint.

They raised their PCE inflation target from 2.1% up to 2.5% by the end of 2025.

15 out of 19 Fed officials view inflation risks weighted to the upside.

In September, just 3 officials felt this way. Image
So, what does this all mean for investors and for your portfolio?

As we have been forecasting, we expect more volatility in 2025.

These swings will be tradable.

Subscribe now at the link below to gain instant access to our alerts and analysis:

thekobeissiletter.com/subscribe
Lastly, the million Dollar question is if the labor market
can hold up with tighter financial conditions in 2025.

If not, we risk stagflation, the Fed's nightmare.

In fact, stagflation may already be here.

Follow us @KobeissiLetter for real time analysis as this develops. Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with The Kobeissi Letter

The Kobeissi Letter Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @KobeissiLetter

Sep 14
This is historic:

Newly released data shows that US household net worth jumped by +$7.1 TRILLION in Q2 2025 alone.

In other words, for 3-straight months, US households added an average of +$79 BILLION in net worth PER DAY.

What just happened? Let us explain.

(a thread) Image
The Fed just released their latest Z.1 report, as shown below.

Total US household net worth hit a record $176.3 trillion in Q2 2025.

The +$7.1 trillion QoQ increase marks the largest dollar increase since Q4, during the pandemic recovery.

Such a large jump is extremely rare. Image
In fact, US household net worth is historically high relative to GDP.

Household net worth now equals 581% of US GDP, the highest since Q1 2022.

The wealth gap between asset owners and everyone else is widening quickly.

The stock market was largely behind this gain. Image
Read 12 tweets
Sep 13
The time has come:

On Wednesday, the Fed will cut rates for the first time in 2025 and "blame" a weak labor market.

This will be just the 3rd year since 1996 with Fed rate cuts while the S&P 500 is at record highs.

What happens next? Let us explain.

(a thread) Image
In fact, US stock valuations have reached their highest level on record, according to Bloomberg.

This surpasses the Dot-Com bubble and 1929 peak before the Great Depression.

But, it may be justified as the world experiences its biggest technological revolution in 20+ years. Image
It's a rather unique situation for the Fed this time around.

Typically, the Fed cuts interest rates in a weak economy with stocks well below record highs.

While the strength of the economy is up for debate, GDP growth remains robust.

GDP is growing at 3%+ per year. Image
Read 13 tweets
Sep 9
There it is:

The US Labor Department just revised -911,000 jobs out of 12 months of already reported data, the largest revision in history.

This is officially ABOVE 2009 levels, with jobs data overstated by ~76,000 PER MONTH.

What's next? Let us explain.

(a thread) Image
Here's the data itself.

We are seeing large revisions in consumer-oriented categories.

This includes -176,000 jobs in Leisure and Hospitality, and -226,000 jobs in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.

Total private hiring was overstated by a massive -880,000 jobs. Image
This now marks the largest revision in history, even above 2009 levels.

In 2009, the US revised -902,000 jobs out of 12 months of already reported data.

We are now seeing revisions that are larger than the largest financial crisis outside of the US Great Depression. Image
Read 12 tweets
Sep 6
It's worse than you think:

After a SECOND data revision, the US went from "adding" 147,000 jobs in June 2025, to LOSING -13,000 jobs.

Cumulative payrolls have now officially been revised down by -1.1 MILLION jobs since February 2022.

What is happening here?

(a thread) Image
This is completely broken.

If you take a look at NET revisions just for 2025, the US has seen -482,000 jobs revised out of the initially reported data.

This is roughly equivalent to the entire population of Atlanta, GA.

All revised out of just 2025's data year-to-date. Image
In August 2024, this issue began gaining some publicity.

This was when the BLS revised 12-month job growth down by a massive -818,000 jobs.

It marked the largest downward revision since 2008 in an economy where the Fed was calling for a "soft landing."

It's getting worse. Image
Read 10 tweets
Sep 5
This is absolutely insane:

The US just revised the June jobs report lower for a SECOND time for a total of -160,000 jobs.

Now, the US has officially LOST -13,000 jobs in June, the first negative month since July 2021.

What just happened? Let us explain.

(a thread) Image
Take a look at this.

The June jobs report has now been revised lower by a total of -160,000 jobs.

This is MORE than the initially reported GAIN of +147,000 jobs, a seriously concerning trend in our data.

If this is not a "broken" system, it's hard to say what is. Image
In fact, the May and June jobs report were just revised lower by a combined -280,000 jobs.

And, every single jobs report in 2025 has been revised lower aside from July.

Not only is something wrong with our data, but the labor market is entering recession territory. Image
Read 12 tweets
Sep 4
The US labor market is in trouble:

Job cuts just surged by +88,736 in August 2025 alone, the highest August total since 2020.

This brings the YTD total up to 892,362 job cuts, up a whopping +66% compared to 2024.

What's happening to the labor market?

(a thread) Image
Aside from 2020, there has not been an August total that exceeded 85,000 job cuts since 2008.

We are seeing 2020 and 2008-like job cuts in what many have called a "strong" economy.

The YTD total is already 17% ABOVE the FULL YEAR total of 761,358 seen in 2024. Image
And, it's not all DOGE anymore.

While DOGE cuts have accounted for a massive 292,279 job cuts YTD, it's also the economy.

The 2nd most cited reason for workforce cuts, responsible for 199,297 cuts, is "market and economic conditions."

The Fed will lean on this in September. Image
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(