Inflation slows, yields peak, the market pops, and fizzles into the holiday. – C.J. Lawrence – Market Commentary – 12/19/22

As we prepare for the holiday, the market looks like stale Champagne. There was an initial 900-point pop in the DOW on the better inflation number for November (CPI) at 7.1%. Markets were ready to pop the cork and declare inflation dead. That quickly fizzled when Fed Chair Jay Powell delivered anoth...
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Fed blinks; Inflation cools; America votes; China buys vaccines; Crypto implodes; Putin retreats. – C.J. Lawrence Market Commentary 11/11/2022

Turning to the September inflation report, headline CPI year-on-year for September was down slightly at 8.2%, in line with the previous three declines.  The all-important core inflation which excludes food and energy was unfortunately up again....
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Reversal of Fortune? Dr. Copper pointing to lower inflation ahead. – C.J. Lawrence – Market Commentary – June 25, 2022

Markets on Wednesday rejoiced with a nice broad-based rally once the Fed confirmed the 75bps raise to the Fed Funds rate at its regular meeting. Fed Funds now stand at 1.50-1.75%. Even the Swiss National Banksurprised, raising rates by 50bp, a first in 15 years, lifting negative rates from -0.75% to...
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C.J. Lawrence Weekly – Economic Fears Feed Market Volatility but Slow Stable Growth and Tame Inflation Could Be Bullish for Stocks in 2019

Positioning portfolios for next year and beyond will be challenging for top down investors and managers. The 2019 and 2020 economic and corporate profit outlooks are murky and investors who remember the sting of the 2008 downtown may choose to remain in safe ports rather than face the risk that the...
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C.J. Lawrence Weekly Market Comment – Supply-Demand Imbalance Bodes Well for Rebound in Housing Related Stocks

The growth in the pace of housing completions, now at a 1.26 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), suggests that the U.S. housing market remains under-supplied and is only inching its way back to balance. At the same time, millennials are entering the housing market at a rapid pace, h...
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C.J. Lawrence Weekly – Support for Consumer Discretionary Stocks…U.S. Household Net Worth Exceeds $100 Trillion for First Time

The Fed’s recent snapshot paints a picture of a healthy U.S. household sector.  That is good news for U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), two-thirds of which is driven by consumer spending.  But while some market watchers suggest that the U.S. economy is late in the business cycle, U.S. household...
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