US Treasury Secretary Yellen Says Signs of US Recession Aren’t in Sight for Now (As Yield Curve And Atlanta Fed GDPNow Tracker SCREAM Recession)

Just remember, the US economy had strong employment figures just prior to the 2008 Great Recession and financial crisis, so US Treasury Secretary Yellen, Biden’s economic cheerleader Bernstein and Obama’s economic cheerleader Sperling are all relying on a bad indicator of economic health to justify that the US economy is in great shape.

(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed confidence in the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation and said she doesn’t see any sign that the US economy is in a broad recession.

“We’re likely to see some slowing of job creation,” Yellen said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I don’t think that that’s a recession. A recession is broad-based weakness in the economy. We’re not seeing that now.”

With US consumer prices rising at the fastest rate in four decades, a growing number of analysts say it will take a recession and higher joblessness to ease price pressures significantly. The Federal Reserve raised rates in June by the most since 1994 and is expected to approve another 75 basis-point hike this week.

Inflation is “way too high,” Yellen said, while renewing the Biden administration’s argument that it’s also high in many other advanced economies.

“The Fed is charged with putting in place policies that will bring inflation down,” said Yellen, a former Fed chair. “And I expect them to be successful.”

Dammit, Janet. All of Biden’s anti-fossil fuel orders are still in place and Biden/Pelosi/Schumer are still trying to pass the highly-inflationary Build Back (Inflation) Better bill. And The Fed still has not shrunk it massive balance sheet yet.

But Janet, the US Treasury 10Y-2Y yield curve remains inverted (historically ahead of a recession) while the Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q2 tracker is at -1.6% which would make the second quarter in a row of negative real GDP growth in a row (historically a definition of recession).

My preferred 10Y-2Y chart shows the yield curve more inverted than even prior to The Great Recession!

But in Yellen’s defense, The Fed’s preferred yield curve (implied yield on 3-month T-Bills in 18 month – 3 month T-Bill yield) is still positive, though crashing like a paralyzed falcon.

So, the Biden administration is sticking to the strong labor market story. But what the Biden Administration (and Yellen) fail to acknowledge is 1) unemployment is a lagged indicator of a recession (unemployment was low prior to the 2008 GREAT recession, then exploded and 2) there is still a tremendous amount of monetary stimulus outstanding that The Fed has taken away … yet.

Essentially, the Biden Administration is panicking over the coming mid-year election and will say anything at this point to stay in power. So, I would probably ignore anything said by Biden, Yellen and their talking heads before the midterms elections. But when Biden’s economic advisor says that the US economy is strong, I want to ask him how having NEGATIVE wage growth is a good thing,

Let’s see if Yellen is correct and The Fed’s Fireball will tame inflation. Frankly, I think the global slowdown is the only thing that will tame inflation.

Recession Warning? Total US Foreclosures Starts UP 440.91% YoY In June (Black Knight)

This bit of housing news won’t soothe the Biden Administration which is terrified of getting blamed for a recession.

Total US foreclosure starts are up 440.91% YoY in June, according to Black Knight.

Rising mortgage rates, declining REAL wage growth? This spells trouble in River City (Potomac River city, that is!)

Welcome to the Land of a Thousand home foreclosures!

Inflation And The Fed Ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC Meeting (Will Fed 75 BPS Increase Tame Inflation With Inverted Yield Curve? Or Will Biden/Congress Raise Taxes To Fight Inflation?)

Hold on, The Fed is coming! To raise their target rate by 75 basis points at Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. Will this stem the tide of rising inflation?

Under Biden, we have seen regular gasoline prices rise 82% despite recent declines. Diesel fuel is up 121% and foodstuffs are up 46%. And house rents keep rising at a staggering 14.75% YoY. The recent declines is more due to the global economic slowdown and central bank rate increases than anything Washington DC is doing.

(Bloomberg) Investors are skeptical that the Federal Reserve can tame the worst inflation in four decades without driving the economy into a recession.

That’s bad news for Americans, who face the prospect of a downturn as their bills for food, rent and fuel swell. But to bond investors hit by deep losses this year, it may mean any further pain will be short-lived, as a recession will spark the US central bank to cut rates next year. That’s according to the results of the latest MLIV Pulse survey.

Over 60% of 1,343 respondents in the survey said there’s a low or zero probability that the US central bank can rein in consumer-price pressures without causing an economic contraction. The survey was conducted July 18-22 and included retail and professional investors.

US inflation may be close to a peak, but it’s very likely to stay above 8% through year-end. Bloomberg Economics’ model assigns zero probability to a drop below 4% in 2023. Taken together with increasing recession risks, the Fed faces a tough balancing act as it attempts to bring stubborn price pressures under control without tipping the economy into contraction.

Of course, The Federal Reserve doesn’t really consider energy or food inflation, which are typically higher than core inflation. But going into Wednesday’s meeting, we see the US Treasury 10Y-2Y curve remains inverted (a signal of impending recession) and the Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q2 tracker at -1.6% after a negative Q1 reading.

Will raising the target rate (or ACTUALLY shrinking their balance sheet) reduce inflation? We shall see, but it has got to be better than Lawrence Summer’s suggestion to reduce inflation: raise taxes. Wait a minute, Larry. Inflation was caused by 1) overstimulus by The Fed combined with 2) massive Covid spending by Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and 3) Biden’s anti-fossil fuel policies. So instead of suggesting a decrease in Federal spending, Summer’s wants to give MORE of your money to Biden and Congress to spend. What an unbelievable nitwit.

Here is a picture of Larry Summers, Jay Powell and Janet Yellen attending the FOMC meeting in Washington DC.

Grizzly Bear! US Existing Home Sales Crash -14.24% YoY In June As Fed Strangles Housing Market (Median Price 13.27% YoY As Inventory Still MIA)

Instead of The Boston Strangler, we now have the DC Strangler. Better known as The Federal Reserve and their war on inflation.

US existing home sales crashed -14.24% YoY and -5.40% MoM in June as The Fed tightens its icy grip on the housing market. Existing home sales were lower than expected at 5.12 million home sold SAAR.

Median price for existing home sales declined to 13.27% YoY as inventory available for sale remains MIA. And The Fed’s balance sheet is still out in force.

The US housing market in terms of sales has entered a bear market, but with The Fed’s balance sheet stimulus still hunting asset prices, it is a grizzly bear market in terms of affordability.

Heartaches By The Number! Mortgage Applications Declined For Third week In A Row, Lowest Level Since 2000 (Applications DOWN -71% Under Biden, Mortgage Rates UP 99%)

Heartaches by the number!

Mortgage applications declined for the third week in a row, reaching the lowest level since 2000.

Mortgage applications decreased 6.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 15, 2022.

The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 80 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 16 percent compared with the previous week and was 19 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

Heartache #1: Mortgage rates have risen 99% under Biden.

Heartache #2: Mortgage application have fallen -71% under Biden.

As The Federal Reserve continues to fight inflation caused by 1) excessive stimulus by The Federal Reserve and Federal government surrounding Covid and 2) Biden’s energy policies, we are seeing the mortgage market as collateral damage.

NOT Beautiful! US Mortgage Rates Decline Slightly To 5.73% As Fed Raises Rates And Recession Probability Increases (30Y Rate UP 99% Under Biden)

Everything is NOT beautiful for the mortgage market. In fact, the 30-year mortgage rate is up 99% since Biden took office as President.

Mortgage rates are rising in part thanks to The Federal Reserve trying to control inflation (caused by Biden’s energy policies and spending). But mortgage rates are down slightly today.

Bear in mind that REAL wage growth is negative, thanks to Bidenflation.

Joe Biden’s policies are a real heartbreaker for millions of Americans. And Jill Biden is the living, loving baby sitter.

Goin’ Down! US Housing Starts Drop -6.3% YoY In June Thanks To Fed Tightening (1-Unit Starts Dropped -8% MoM, Multifamily Starts Soared 15% MoM)

The US is goin’ down. At least in terms of housing supply growth.

The US is short on supply of housing for a myriad of reasons (high costs, Not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) local zoning laws, etc), but The Fed’s cranking up interest rates isn’t helping.

US housing starts, a measure of supply, declined -6.3% YoY in June as The Fed cranked up rates.

1-unit (aka, single family detached) starts dropped -8.05% MoM in June while 5+ unit (aka, multifamily) starts rose 15% MoM.

1-unit permits dropped -8% MoM in June while 5+ unit starts were up 13% MoM.

The reason? REAL weekly earnings growth declined -4.4% YoY in June thanks to Bidenflation.

I hope you are enjoying Biden’s anti-fossil fuel agenda since it is killing us.

Doom Loop? The US Dollar Is Booming, But Will A Doom Loop Follow? (US Treasury Yield Curve Inverted At -20 BPS)

Here we go doom loop de loop?

The dollar’s gain is the world’s pain — and based on its current trajectory, the world may be in for a whole lot more discomfort.

Concerns over global growth have recently sent the US Dollar Index to the strongest level on record, with the greenback hitting multi-decade highs against currencies like the euro and the yen.

But the move risks becoming a self-reinforcing feedback loop given that the vast majority of cross-border trade is still denominated in dollars, and a stronger US currency has historically translated into a broad hit to the world economy.

Against the backdrop of higher-than-expected inflation and still-elevated commodities prices, the concern is that we’re in for a dollar ‘doom loop’ like never before, according to Jon Turek, the founder of JST Advisors and author of the Cheap Convexity blog.

With the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates at the fastest pace in decades, he says, it’s much less clear what could break the feedback loop in the next few months.

The Dollar Doom Loop with US inflation causing The Fed to tighten

Under Biden’s policies, inflation hit a 40-year high (blue line), and the US Dollar (green line) is strengthening. Then we have The Fed raising the target rate (purple line) and the probability of recession rising with Fed tightening.

Is a US recession coming? The US Treasury 10Y-2Y yield curve is inverted at almost -20 basis points.

There is a Fed open market committee meeting in one week and they are expected to raise their target rate by 75 basis points according to Fed Fund Futures data. Inflation keeps rising as does the probability of a US recession. So, The Fed will keep on tightening.

Buckaroo! Why The Fed Won’t Be Able To Contain Inflation (Taylor Rule Suggests A Target Rate Of 23.30%, A Bridge Too Far)

The Federal Reserve has behaved like buckaroos! Why? Since the financial crisis, The Fed has left its enormous monetary stimulus outstanding for too long.

The Fed initiated asset purchases in a series of moves (aka, QE) culminating in Covid QE that has been barley removed. With The Fed’s stimulypto (and Federal spending), we have seen the S&P 500 index soar along with home prices.

Of course, this begs the question as to whether the stock market and housing market can withstand The Fed’s tightening plans.

A closer look at the S&P 500 index and the Case-Shiller National home price index under Biden. The S&P 500 has been declining since The Fed started their monetary tightening. But the Case-Shiller National home price index as of April ’22 was still soaring.

With inflation at a 40-year high, the Taylor Rule suggests a Fed target rate of … 23.30%. It is currently at 1.75%. That is an unrealistic target rate that The Fed will never do. It is, in fact, a Bridge Too Far.

How about the Taylor Rule using Core PCE? It is still 12.71%. Still a bridge too far!

Markets are conditioned to massive Fed stimulypto, so how will markets react to stimulus reduction?

While The Fed is intent on withdrawing SOME of the enormous monetary stimulus, they are still buckaroos. And Biden/Congress still want to distort markets by Federal spending such as the Build Back (Inflation) Better bill that Manchin has blocked … so far.

Soothe Me? US Q2 Real GDP Sinks To -1.5% As Fed Tightens The Monetary Noose

The Federal Reserve isn’t soothing me with their rate hikes.

As The Fed has been raising their target rate and beginning to shrink their balance sheet, we are seeing Q3 Real GDP slipping further down the rabbit hole to -1.5%.

The culprit? Friday’s retail trade, import/export prices and industrial production.

Time for some tequila to soothe me, since The Fed or the Biden Administration won’t help.