Obama speech- not your father’s Democrats

There is a quick fix, a full payroll tax holiday for employees and employers.

His small business proposals show he and the rest of Congress still don’t understand that employment is a function of sales.

There is nothing in their proposals to support consumption, which is the only point of any economy.

I suspect they are afraid of the trade gap and fear domestic consumption will hurt net export growth.

Their goal is to have us be the world’s slaves via rising net exports.

This is all very good for business and the stock market, not so good for people who need to work for a living.

These are not your father’s Democrats.

New Home Sales…

Looks to me like maybe the payback has run its course.
I’d look for a rebound through the orange line I drew.

The only problem is there aren’t a lot of actual houses for sale.
So a pick up in housing starts can’t be far off either as they are very low given 1-3% GDP growth supported mainly by income helped by the govt deficit spending, lower home prices, and reasonable mortgage rates?

And yes, the surviving companies are those that have figured out how to make money in this environment, and most have massive operating leverage should GDP pick up to more normal recovery levels.

Still looks to me like over the next few years the big money will be lost by being out of stocks given where it seems we are in this cycle.

Unless Congress gets serious about near term deficit reduction. So far it’s pretty much all talk, but who knows!

On Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 10:48 AM, wrote:

The payback from the expiry of the government’s tax program has been horrific. As can be seen from the chart, new home sales are at multi-decade lows. Existing sales yesterday were alarmingly poor. Despite this news, homebuilders are doing better, no doubt helped by Toll Brothers’ earnings today which were significantly better than expected.

markets looking grim

>   
>   (email exchange)
>   
>   On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 8:32 AM, Seth wrote:
>   
>   stocks look bad
>   looks like another panic
>   

It doesn’t look good technically.

Must be coming out of europe with gold up/euro down dynamic, etc.

Insiders there must be bailing.

Maybe they know something we don’t, or maybe they are wrong.

History is no help as in the past it’s been both.

Austerity is trimming growth there a bit around the edges, but deficits remain reasonably high, so GDP’s are probably at least muddling through, with overall growth probably positive.

The ECB keeps the short term funding channels open for the member nations, but that may not be fully appreciated yet.

On a mark to market basis bank capital is probably below requirements, and they may not realize that doesn’t have to matter to the real economy for as long as the ECB continues to fund them.

Lower crude oil prices support consumption of other things. With US crude oil product consumption up and Saudi output rising, demand must be ok. Maybe Saudis are worried and want lower prices to help world growth as well. Hard to ever say what they are actually up to. They may see the Iraqi production coming on stream and are trying to engineer an increase in demand. Again, no way to tell what they are up to.

The lower 10 year rates reflects expectations of ‘low for longer’ from the Fed due to high unemployment and falling rates of inflation as measured by the Fed. And the possibility of more QE that could flatten the curve further.

There is also the notion that there’s nothing left that the Fed can do of any consequence regarding aggregate demand, and Congress thinks it’s run out of money, which means flying without a net. That increases the weight of the downside in the balance of risks.

If markets and Congress knew that fiscal policy had no nominal limit and deficit spending was not dependent on being able to borrow from the likes of China to be paid by our grandchildren, the balance of risks would be viewed very differently. But they don’t know that.

With the elections coming and California reverting to vouchers again, the time is right for my per capita revenue sharing. But it’s not even a consideration.

Q3 and Q4 GDP estimates are looking more like 1.5%, and Q2 looks to be revised down toward 1% Friday. Not a double dip but no drop in unemployment either as productivity might be at least that high. That’s worse politically than it is for equities, and adds support for a ‘second stimulus’ type of reaction. But that’s way down the road. More likely it causes most of the expiring tax cuts to be extended.

Thursday’s claims can make a big difference as well. The jump to 500,000 last week added an element of fear internationally.

Also, in thin summer markets technicals often cause exaggerated moves. Volume is very low, and a given size buying or selling causes larger moves to find someone willing to take the other side, and momentum type traders can easily overwhelm investors.

Caterpillar CEO says no double-dip recession

Caterpillar CEO says no double-dip recession

August 19 (AP) — Global equipment sales increased 32 percent. And engine and turbine sales were up 5 percent overall. “There seems to be a doom and gloom out there in the punditry,”CEO Doug Oberhelman said. “We’re not seeing that.” Caterpillar said equipment sales in the Asia Pacific region surged 41 percent in July, and North American sales improved 38 percent over last year. The smallest increase came in Europe, Africa and the Middle East where sales still increased 19 percent. CFO Ed Rapp says 2010 has been a year of recovery since the economy bottomed out in August or September, with the developing world leading the way in growth. Rapp said that in past double-dip recessions, the first recession is usually a weak one and the central banks usually typically act prematurely to raise interest rates and scale back stimulus efforts. He said neither one of those applies to the current recession.

High-Freq Data/Fed/Call Centers


Karim writes:

  • ABC survey improved by 2pts this week, and 5pts over past 2 weeks; Still in range of past 2yrs.
  • MBA refi index up 17.1% this week


New Purchase index down a tad but remains reasonably flat after correcting when the home buying credit expired.

Yesterday, Minny Fed President Kocherlakota talked about last week’s FOMC:

“The FOMC’s decision has had a larger impact on financial markets than I would have anticipated. My own interpretation is that the FOMC action led investors to believe that the economic situation in the United States was worse than they, the investors, had imagined. In my view, this reaction is unwarranted. I would say that there is no new information about the current state of the economy to be learned from the FOMC’s actions or its statement.”

Agreed. Q2 earnings good with Q2 gdp probably around 1%. Q3 GDP estimates still around 2.5% should be good further support earnings.

Modest growth not enough to bring down unemployment for a while, good for stocks however.

This was my interpretation but nice to hear an FOMC member say so.

And this from page 1 of today’s FT:

Call centre workers are becoming as cheap to hire in the US as they are in India, according to the head of the country’s largest business process outsourcing company.

Link

All above reasonably positive news…..

Yes, for stocks.
But not if you are a call center worker, or anyone else looking for a job…

Lowe’s misses, but sales and earnings rise

Negative headline for a slight miss, and 3.8% top line growth and double digit earnings growth year over year.

And that is in Q2 where GDP growth was probably only 1% or so, and still looking a bit higher for Q3, supported by ongoing 8%+ federal budget deficits.

Not a good economy for sure, as shockingly high unemployment continues and the federal govt does nothing to further support aggregate demand, because they all believe the myth that the federal govt has run out of money and in order to spend have to borrow from the likes of China and leave the debts for our children to pay back.

Lowe’s results miss estimates

August 16th (Reuters) — Home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos missed quarterly profit and sales estimates as benefits from the homebuyer tax credit and cash for appliances programs waned.

Net income rose to $832 million, or 58 cents a share, in the second quarter ended July 30 from $759 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting 59 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 3.8 percent to $14.36 billion, but missed the average estimate of $14.52 billion.

Payrolls


Karim writes:

Not a game changer in my view and doesn’t compel the Fed to change course next week.

Private sector gradually churning out jobs; hours, wages, and diffusion index ok.

  • Private payrolls up 71k after avg of 41k of prior 2mths but well off highs of 200k avg of Feb and Mar
  • UE rate stays at 9.5%
  • Hours up 0.3% and wages up 0.2%
  • Diffusion index up to 55.6 from 55.2
  • Median duration of unemployment down from 25.5 to 22.2
  • U6 measure unch at 16.5%
  • Job growth accelerates in manufacturing and retail; weakens in temp services and leisure/hospitality

Yes, which means it remains a good market for stocks.

High unemployment is good for cost control and helps keep the Fed on hold. And 0 rates remain a deflationary influence as well.

Top line growth is modestly positive growing by productivity increases plus some hours and employment gains.

Earnings trend remains positive with productivity gains, some top line growth, and a loose labor market.

All supported by a federal deficit that still exceeds 8% of gdp.

Tough political environment with most of the real wealth going to the top as unemployment remains near the highs.

ISM/Bernanke

I tend to agree with Karim and Fed Chairman Bernanke.
Modestly improving GDP growth with unemployment coming down very gradually until a consumer credit expansion takes hold.

Good for stocks, not so good for most of the people still struggling to survive, as the Obama administration continues to preside over what might be the largest transfer of wealth from bottom to top in the history of the world.

And no credible energy policy. We are completely at the mercy of the Saudis who can unilaterally hike prices any time they feel like it.


Karim writes:

  • ISM shows lift from inventories likely has run its course as inventory component crossed back above 50
  • But customer inventories remain low and employment index rises to second highest level since 2004
  • Going forward, private demand, not inventory rebuilding will drive manufacturing
  • Bernanke addressed this today (below) and seems to maintain his above consensus growth forecast



July June
Index 55.5 56.2
Prices paid 57.5 57.0
Production 57.0 61.4
New Orders 53.5 58.5
Inventories 50.2 45.8
Customer inventories 39.0 38.0
Employment 58.6 57.8
New export orders 56.5 56.0
Imports 52.5 56.5
  • “Business in July was strong, the best month since October 2008.” (Fabricated Metal Products)
  • “Slow economy has killed sales for new equipment orders.” (Machinery)
  • “Quoting activity and sales are slow, and backlog is dropping.” (Computer & Electronic Products)
  • “Business continues to be sluggish and has fallen slightly as the economic ills continue.” (Nonmetallic Mineral Products)
  • “Retailers are still unwilling to gamble on inventory.” (Printing & Related Support Activities)

Bernanke

While the support to economic activity from stimulative fiscal policies and firms’ restocking of their inventories will diminish over time, rising demand from households and businesses should help sustain growth. In particular, in the household sector, growth in real consumer spending seems likely to pick up in coming quarters from its recent modest pace, supported by gains in income and improving credit conditions. In the business sector, investment in equipment and software has been increasing rapidly, in part as a result of the deferral of capital outlays during the downturn and the need of many businesses to replace aging equipment. At the same time, rising U.S. exports, reflecting the expansion of the global economy and the recovery of world trade, have helped foster growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector.


To be sure, notable restraints on the recovery persist. The housing market has remained weak, with the overhang of vacant or foreclosed houses weighing on home prices and new construction. Similarly, poor economic fundamentals and tight credit are holding back investment in nonresidential structures, such as office buildings, hotels, and shopping malls.

ISM

Yes, I think we have a nice L shaped economy with modest GDP growth and modestly improving employment, so far mostly evidenced by the increased hours worked that you’ve been pointing out. Acceleration happens when/if some aspect of private sector credit growth takes off.

If euro solvency risks are indeed fading, it should be back to an ok market for stocks (which could have a large one time shift upwards to reflect the reduced euro risk), and low rates from the Fed until something changes.

Like Japan, the budget deficit may be large enough to keep it all from collapsing but not enough for the kind of growth that would trigger higher rates from the Fed.


Karim writes:

Data off recent peaks but still firmly in expansion territory:
Anecdotes mixed:

  • “Component lead times are increasing sharply.” (Computer & Electronic Products)
  • “Market had begun to change, but it is now declining again.” (Wood Products)
  • “BP oil spill will impact business conditions over the next few months.” (Fabricated Metal Products)
  • “The economy continues to be sluggish, with orders 8 percent to 10 percent below last year.” (Nonmetallic Mineral Products)
  • “Retail sales are strong for both the domestic and international markets.” (Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products)


June May
Index 56.2 59.7
Prices paid 57.0 77.5
Production 61.4 66.6
New Orders 58.5 65.7
Inventories 45.8 45.6
Employment 57.8 59.8
Exports orders 56.0 62.0
Imports 56.5 56.5