Weekly Insights
Weekly Webcasts
Join us every Monday for expert market commentary and analysis. Our weekly webcasts cover key market developments, economic indicators, and investment strategies.
China’s Currency & Japan’s Stocks
Trump’s Tariff Turmoil has undermined the US’s credit worthiness and unsteadied the dollar. For countries harboring currency-dominance aspirations, that’s been a blessing in disguise. Today, William explains why China’s aspirations for the yuan won’t bear fruit anytime soon.
Japan’s Brawl With The Bond Vigilantes
After last week’s portentous Japanese government bond auction, in which demand was so weak as to be off the charts, William explains what went wrong and why. Contributing factors included the BOJ’s halted tightening owing to “tariff haze,” the Prime Minister’s unfortunate remark likening the nation’s fiscal situation to that of Greece, and vestiges of Japan’s economic past. But having Japan-specific causes doesn’t detract from investors’ fear that this auction was a canary in a coal mine, portending more upheaval for global financial markets and more difficulty for global policymakers amid Trump’s Tariff Turmoil.
Meltup In Stocks Or Meltdown In Bonds?
Two scenarios to put on your radar: Bond prices might melt down if the Bond Vigilantes are roused by the downgrading of the US’s sovereign debt rating and/or the prospect that Trump’s tax-cut bill worsens the federal budget deficit outlook and/or tariff-related inflation. But a bond market meltdown could force Washington to set the US onto a more sustainable fiscal path—a positive end result for bonds and stocks. … The stock market might already be melting up again.
Earnings & Valuation Under Trump 2.0 So Far
Even though Q1 earnings were fabulous, most economists, industry analysts, and corporate managements have low hopes that Trump’s Tariff Turmoil won’t dunk the US economy into a recession this year. Not us: We’re counting on the economy’s resilience. Today, Dr Ed discusses why the widely expected recession, like others in recent years, will be a no-show. Hard-to-ignore reasons include record-high forward earnings, strong economic indicators, and a forward P/E that hasn’t plunged as happens when a recession is imminent. Stock investors seem to be in our camp. Moreover, Trump’s tariff overreach is bound to be tempered by the courts and mid-term election realities if nothing else.
Is The Recession Over Already?
We believe in the resilience of the US economy. Recent years’ monetary tightening didn’t bring on a recession; this year’s tariff turmoil isn’t likely to either. We’re lowering the odds we see of a recession back to 35%, where it had been in early March. One reason is that China and the US appear ready to start negotiating a trade deal. Trump needs to get past trade issues for the Republicans to keep their majorities in Congress after the midterms.
Anatomy Of A Correction
A dovish faction has been forming within the Federal Reserve Board, dissenting from Chief Powell’s hawkish party line. Rather than wait and see whether tariffs deliver greater blows to the economic or the inflation outlook before changing monetary-policy course, the doves claim that the economy is more vulnerable and espouse lowering the federal funds rate sooner rather than later. Dr Ed sides with Powell & Co. So does the data: So far, there’s more evidence of tariff-induced inflationary pressures than economic weakness.
On Edge For 90 Days
Trump’s Tariff Turmoil has put the world on edge. A new world order may be the ultimate result, but for now we’ve got the New World Disorder, leaving everyone scrambling to adjust to Trump’s unpredictable policy pivots. The economic fallout is uncertain. The uncertainty is keeping Wall Street on edge. It’s keeping US trading partner nations on edge. It’s keeping YRI on edge. Today, Dr Ed reviews the timeline of Trump’s tariff proclamations; Trump’s frustrations with a Fed chair who won’t be cowed and can’t be fired; the mid-turmoil expectations for GDP, inflation, corporate earnings, and stock valuations; and the economic impacts of Trump’s tariffs on China and Europe.
Bonds Away!?
Long-term Treasury bond yields surged last week despite news that March inflation was subdued and consumer sentiment is falling fast. That’s partly because the federal budget deficit is too d@mn high! In the past, recessions and lower long-term bond yields were associated with higher deficits; but the budget deficit has been widening since Covid despite a growing economy. Supply of long-term bonds also affects yields, but less so since the Treasury Department started issuing more short-term debt in 2023. Observers have been perplexed by the rise in long-term yields, but the reason for it may simply be that global demand for US Treasury bonds has shriveled, as Trump’s Tariff Turmoil is raising inflationary expectations.
Annihilation Days
Trump’s Liberation Day last Wednesday triggered Annihilation Days on Thursday and Friday, with the Stock Market Vigilantes giving a costly thumbs-down to Trump’s Reign of Tariffs. Trump officials say they aim to make Main Street wealthy again even if that’s bad for Wall Street. The problem is that Main Street owns lots of equities traded on Wall Street, so the two streets prosper and suffer together. Congress can’t do much to stop Trump given his veto power, but he might get the message that hurting Main Street’s stock portfolios can cause a recession and jeopardize the GOP majority in Congress. If so, he might postpone the reciprocal tariffs, giving trade negotiations time to work. Also, the courts might block Trump’s tariffs. An early end to Trump’s tariff nightmare would result in a V-shaped stock-market bottom. We’re counting on that; the alternative is just plain ugly.
Trump’s Reign Of Tariffs: Stagflation Odds Up, S&P 500 Target Down
The expected fallout from Trump 2.0’s Reign of Tariffs undercuts our former bullishness and dims the prospects of our base-case Roaring 2020s scenario for now. It has also drained confidence in the US economy on the parts of everyone from CEOs to consumers to investors. Recent data showing manufacturing faltering and purchasing managers paying higher prices suggest stagflation is already taking root. We’re dropping the odds we assign to our Roaring 2020s scenario from 65% to 55% and upping the odds of a stagflation scenario, which may include a recession, from 35% to 45%. That 45% is also the probability we see that the stock market’s correction will deepen into a bear market in coming months. Yet we still expect an up year, with the S&P 500 rising above 6000 by year-end.
The Fed’s Economic Forecast Versus The Consensus & Ours
Investors clearly fear a recession is coming—that’s what the recent stock market correction suggests. The consensus of economists probably puts the prospect of a recession at 35% (as we now do). Fed officials likely expect to avert a recession by lowering interest rates; FOMC meeting participants dropped their GDP projections last week to 1.7% this year. As for us, we see a fork in the road. One way leads to stagflation, which includes the possibility of a recession (35% odds). But our base case remains the Roaring 2020s (65%), in which a tech-led productivity boom lifts profit margins, propels GDP, suppresses inflation, and fuels wage growth and consumers’ buying power.
The Bull Versus The Bear Case
Will all the Trump turmoil deepen the recent stock market correction into a bear market? Very few bear markets have occurred without accompanying recessions. If no recession looms, today’s historically stretched valuations could be sustained, Dr Ed says. But the Trump factor is unpredictable, and a trade war could cause a recession. Would Trump pivot before that point, pressured by the Stock Market Vigilantes? … Read on for Ed’s balanced assessment of both the bear and bull market cases. … And an unsettling question for the future: Might the “Roaring 2020s” give way to a repeat of the 1930s, “The New Global Disorder of the 2030s”? It’s all up to Trump.
High Noise-To-Signal Ratios Unnerving Stock Investors
It’s getting harder to make out the shape of the economy through the fog of Trump 2.0’s firings and tariffs. Indeed, one regional Fed bank sees real GDP contracting this quarter, another sees it expanding, and bad weather has distorted signals from several economic indicators. No wonder the stock market’s default position is risk-off and stocks have been correcting. We’ve lost some confidence that the economy will avoid a recession, raising the odds of one to 35%, up from 20%, last week. And we’re wondering whether Trump Tariff Turmoil 2.0 might trigger a rare kind of flash crash unaccompanied by a recession.
Testing The Resilience Of The US Economy
We continue to bet on the resilience of the American economy. Yes, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model lowered its Q1 GDP forecast significantly on Friday. The volatile model swung in response to January’s surge in imported goods ahead of Trump’s tariffs. In addition, consumer spending was depressed by a colder-than-usual January, but consumer spending and the model are bound to rebound in February. Eric explains why we believe pessimism about the economic outlook is unwarranted.
A Tale Of Woes
While Ed and Eric have been accentuating the positives in the stock market outlook and also acknowledging the negatives, investors and many commentators seem suddenly to be doing the opposite. Today, Ed outlines both the concerns that dragged the stock market off its midweek record high last week and our base-case Roaring 2020s scenario (55% subjective odds). Even if a 1990s-style meltup was followed by a meltdown (25% odds), we’d expect that meltdown to be short-lived. That’s because our productivity-driven Roaring 2020s economic scenario would still be buoying corporate earnings.
The Gunfight At DOGE City
The Bond Vigilantes aren’t saddling up just yet, but they’re on high alert, Ed reports. They’re watching to see whether anti-DOGE gunslingers will cripple the new federal department or whether DOGE will root out sufficient government inefficiencies to enable Trump 2.0 to slow the budget deficit’s growth and proceed on its tax-cut plans. The stakes are high for the US economy and financial markets, as the Bond Vigilantes have never carried more firepower in their holsters. Fortunately, Treasury Security Bessent is keeping the administration mindful of that.
Anatomy Of Full Employment
When others saw labor market weakening last summer, we saw normalization from the settling down of pandemic-period churn. Our labor market outlook remains constructive. The growth of the labor force should continue to slow, but demand for workers will remain strong, keeping the labor market needle at full employment. Strong productivity gains from widespread AI adoption and a full-employment labor market should spur robust real wage growth. Strong wage growth should keep consumer spending growth and GDP growth strong. All this should keep our Roaring 2020s economic scenario on track. Indeed, January’s labor market data confirm every aspect of our outlook.
Anatomy Of Gross National Product
Why is the US economy so strong? Look in the mirror: The consumer is the engine of growth. Yes, technological advancements will continue to buoy GDP, as will Trump 2.0 deregulation and lower taxes. But consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of real GDP. We reject the notion that consumer spending will slow in the face of depleted saving and other drags; it’s too resilient, which is why the economy is so resilient. Likewise, we don’t expect capital spending to slow notwithstanding a weak Q4; companies still have much to gain from investments in AI and other technological innovations. That’s the linchpin of our productivity-led Roaring 2020s outlook (55% odds) and higher S&P 500 price targets for the rest of the decade.
Anatomy Of The Bull Market (Will DeepSeek Sink It?)
The current bull market has been driven mostly by valuation expansion; now valuation is historically high. We expect earnings growth to perpetuate the bull market this year; any more valuation expansion could leave the market vulnerable to a meltdown. Our year-end target for the S&P 500 is 7000, based on a solid rise in earnings with no further valuation expansion. … Much of our optimism rests on the Magnificent-7 remaining magnificent. If they don’t disappoint investors, the S&P 500 likely won’t either given their hefty collective share of the index’s market capitalization. … However, a competitive threat to their magnificence has emerged from China: DeepSeek, with reportedly cheaper AI. Could DeepSeek deep-six the Mag-7?
Time To Recalibrate Our Three Scenarios?
Expectations for more rate cuts this year than previously expected buoyed both bond and stock markets last week. The prior week was bad for both markets as rate-cut expectations diminished. But last Thursday’s comments by Fed Governor Waller that fueled the turnaround were wrong-headed, in our opinion. If inflation follows the course he expects down to 2.0%, the Fed’s dual mandate would be achieved so it wouldn’t need to ease further. … Upon reassessing our subjective probabilities for three alternative outlooks for the economy and markets, we’re sitting pat. Our base-case scenario (55% chance) remains the Roaring 2020s. … Supporting that scenario: Baby Boomers flush with wealth and spending it.
The Recession Is Over, Again!
The financial markets have been recalibrating their expectations for monetary policy since the FOMC’s December meeting and their expectations for economic changes under the incoming Trump 2.0 administration since Election Day. In this context, Friday’s strong employment report only served to cement investors’ sense that the Fed should pause its easing. Both bond and stock markets reacted like the sky was falling. We’re not surprised by this January correction, and we view it as healthy: The markets are gaining a more realistic sense of the current situation, recognizing that interest rates will stay higher (i.e., normal) for longer, while the economy remains resilient. A strong Q4 earnings season should help to restore shaken investors’ confidence.
Risks & Reward In 2025
The January Barometer and January Effect have been interesting statistical regularities that may not have much investment usefulness. It’s better to stay in the stock market whatever the month brings than to try and execute exits and entrances based on the calendar. Over time, the market has a bullish bias, which is why we do too. … Today, Dr Ed lists what could go right for the stock market this year—including better-than-expected earnings, technological advances, and a strong economy buoyed by consumer spending—and what could go wrong. On that list, inspired by the worries of more bearish prognosticators, are the known unknown economic effects of Trump 2.0 policies and how the bond market may respond to them.
What Could Go Wrong & Right Up Ahead?
Ed and Eric look forward to the new year.
2025 Outlook
Ed and Eric look forward to the new year.