Q: What changed dramatically this week about some of the forward looking economic forecasts?
A: Atlanta Fed Real GDPNow estimates 2.4% current economic growth.
Q: Retail sales up 3% in January? Don’t all those people know this is a Recession?
A: Jobs and sales appear to indicate a healthy economy.
Q: Why have the equity indexes remained remarkably stable in February?
A: The overall market may have found equilibrium temporarily.
Evolution of Atlanta Fed GDPNow Real GDP Estimate for 2023 (02/08/2023)
– Courtesy of The Atlanta Federal Reserve
Adjusted Retail & Food Services Sales, Seasonally Adjusted Total Monthly Percentage Change (01/31/2021 – 01/31/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
U.S. Employees on Non-Farm Payrolls Total Month Over Month Net Change, Seasonally Adjusted (02/15/2022 – 02/15/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
U.S. Consumer Price Index – Urban Consumers Month Over Month, Seasonally Adjusted (01/31/2022 – 01/31/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
Dow Jones Industrial Average (12/30/2022 – 02/15/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (12/30/2022 – 02/15/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (02/15/2022 – 02/15/2023)
– Courtesy of Bloomberg LP
Headline Round Up
*Are We Shocked? Goldman Sachs Says “Soft Landing” & Some Economists Declare “No Landing” With Growth Accelerating.
*January 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Rises .5%. 7 Month Total Annualized is 2.4% Since July 2022.
*Car Prices Hit Record High. Average Monthly Payment Amount Nearly Double Compared to 2019!
*Some of Berkshire Hathaway’s Quarterly Moves.
*Oops: Stan Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office and Others Dumped Tech Stocks Before 2023 Rally.
*Crypto’s Hostile Crackdown by U.S. Regulatory Authorities.
*FDIC Policy Analyst Married to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Employee Made 3000 Short Sales.
*Natural Gas Decline Corresponded to Freeport Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) June Explosion.
*Plains All American Pipeline L.P. Predicts 500,000 Barrel Per Day Permian Surge this Year!
*Devon Energy Smacked Down on 2023 CapEx Guidance.
*Texas Rising: West Texas Intermediate Crude Contracts Hit Record High So Far in 2023!
*U.S. Government to Sell Another 26 Million Barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Regularly scheduled sale?
*Oops: Dow Jones Industrial Average Kicked Out Exxon Mobil, Corp. for Salesforce, Inc. Avoiding a Double in Value & Losing 20% Instead?
*China’s Reopening Leading to Commodity Boom!
*OPEC Estimates Global Oil Demand Rising 100,000 Barrels Per Day in 2023 Due to Stronger Economies.
*Air India, Ltd. Bullish & Places Order for 470 Planes!
*SolarEdge Technology, Inc. and Enphase Energy, Inc. Earnings Home Runs So Far in 2023!
*Ford Invests $3.5 Billion for Michigan Battery Plant.
*Private Equity Buyers Beware: Former Slync, Inc. Co-Founder & CEO, Christopher Kirchner, Arrested and Charged with Fraud by Multiple Federal Agencies!
Profit Report
The Secure 2.0 Act is Delaying Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)! Details for investors?
Globally, How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy?