Tag Archive: economy

Weekly Market Pulse: Currency Illusion

2022-11-28

When we think about the challenges facing an investor today, the big problems, the things we worry about that could cause a lot more harm than some interest rate hikes, are mostly outside the United States. China is prominent this weekend because of demonstrations against their zero COVID policies. The Chinese people appear to be pretty well fed up with the endless lockdowns and have finally decided to try and do something about it. Unfortunately,...

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: Good News, Bad News

2022-11-14

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-11-14

One thing I can tell you for certain about last week’s big rally on Thursday and Friday: there were a lot of people who desperately wanted a good excuse to buy stocks. And buy they did after a better-than-expected CPI report Thursday morning, pushing the S&P 500 up nearly 6% on the week with all of that coming on Thursday and Friday.

Read More »

The Cleanest Dirty Shirt

2022-10-28

by Stephen Brennan

2022-10-28

It’s easy to overestimate the problems the United States faces while underestimating its strengths. The challenges are certainly significant. Politics have seldom been so divisive. The government is running an annual deficit of over a trillion dollars, with a total debt many times that. Inflation has spiked. The Fed has been hiking interest rates at a pace that could imperil the economy.

Read More »

Powell’s Epiphany: There is No Free Lunch p2 Neutralizing the Money is Inflationary

2022-10-25

by Douglas R. Terry, CFA

2022-10-25

Pandemic Wealth Effect. The top 1% of the US made about $14T or $4.2M per person. The next 19% made about $20T or $318,000 per person. The next 30% made about $5T or $50,000 per person. The bottom 50% made about $1T or $6,000 per person. The resulting inflation is at a 40yr high and Powell wants the money back.

Read More »

SPECIAL REPORT: Follow The Money Series – Dawn Of A New Era

2022-10-25

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-10-25

With inflation recently hitting a high not seen since 1981, it is now apparent that the factors that drove the disinflation trend of the last four decades are coming to an end. Globalization and demographics, the two big factors that combined to hold down prices and wages for so long, are reversing, and so too is the downtrend in prices, wages, and interest rates.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: Did Powell Just Blink?

2022-10-24

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-10-24

Did Jerome Powell blink last Friday? It was just before the market open Friday and interest rates were jumping higher, as they had all week. The 10-year Treasury yield was up to 4.33%, another 11 basis points higher than the previous close and 32 basis points higher than the previous week’s close.

Read More »

Market Currents: Fed Confusion

2022-10-20

by Bob Williams

2022-10-20

The Federal Reserve seems confused about its role in inflation and unemployment. Alhambra’s Steve Brennan and Joe Calhoun discuss it.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: Just A Little Volatility

2022-10-17

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-10-17

Markets were rather volatile last week. That’s a wild understatement and what passes for sarcasm in the investment business. Stocks started the week waiting with bated (baited?) breath for the inflation reports of the week. It isn’t surprising that the market is focused firmly on the rear view mirror for clues about the future since Jerome Powell has made it plain that is his plan, goofy as it is.

Read More »

Crypto and the Environment

2022-10-11

by Antonios Marios Giannakopoulos

2022-10-11

An intrusive intervention into the crypto market similar to what the EU has recently provided is not a sure promise of a Pareto efficient result.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: The Real Reason The Fed Should Pause

2022-10-11

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-10-11

The Federal Reserve has been on a mission lately to make sure everyone knows they are serious about killing the inflation they created. Over the last two weeks, Federal Reserve officials delivered 37 speeches, all of the speakers competing to see who could be the most hawkish.

Read More »

Market Currents: Don’t Listen to Buy and Hold Investing Advice

2022-10-07

by Bob Williams

2022-10-07

For decades a Buy and Hold strategy was a staple of financial advice. But should it be? Alhambra CEO separates myth and reality.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse (VIDEO)

2022-10-04

by Marcelo Perez

2022-10-04

Are investors at the point of maximum pessimism? Alhambra CEO Joe Calhoun talks about a horrible 3rd quarter, sentiment, and where investors can look right now.

Read More »

Market Currents: Impact of Fed Tightening on Home Prices

2022-09-29

by Marcelo Perez

2022-09-29

What impact does Fed tightening really have on home prices? Doug Terry, Alhambra’s Head of Investment Research, explains.

Read More »

Market Currents: Banks are Keeping Oil Prices High

2022-09-28

by Marcelo Perez

2022-09-28

Who is really keeping oil prices high? Alhambra CEO Joe Calhoun says it’s the banks.

Read More »

Market Currents – Is The Economy Contracting?

2022-09-21

by Marcelo Perez

2022-09-21

Is the economy contracting? Alhambra’s Steve Brennan poses that question to CEO Joe Calhoun.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: No News Is…

2022-09-12

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-09-12

Nothing happened last week. Stocks and bonds and commodities continued to trade and move around in price but there was no news to which those movements could be attributed. The economic news was a trifle and what there was told us exactly nothing new about the economy.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse: The More Things Change…

2022-09-07

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-09-07

I stopped in a local antique shop over the weekend. The owner is retiring and trying to clear out as much as she can before they close the doors so I paid a mere $3 for the Life magazine above. I think it might be worth many multiples of that price for investors who think our situation today is somehow uniquely bad. The cover headline could just as easily be describing today as 1970.

Read More »

Weekly Market Pulse (VIDEO)

2022-09-07

by Marcelo Perez

2022-09-07

Alhambra CEO Joe Calhoun compares the similarities between today’s bear market and past ones, plus last week’s data on the economy, employment, and whether the new data points to recession.

Read More »

Goldilocks Calling

2022-09-02

by Joseph Y. Calhoun

2022-09-02

Since the summer of 2020, my expectation for the US economy has been that once all the COVID distortions are gone, it would revert to its previous trend growth of around 2%. And that seems to be exactly what is going on with the economy right now.

Read More »