- The rise in interest rates has less of an impact on household expenses today than it did in the past. Before the 2008 financial crisis 40% of mortgages were adjustable rate. Now only 10% of mortgages are adjustable, so most homeowners have fixed rates.
- Emerging markets have had a negative return over the last 5 years. Yet, this bodes well for the future. Since 1994, emerging markets have never lost money in any 5-year period following a negative 5-year period and have had an average return of 17.2%.
- The US Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR), an emergency stockpile of crude oil that the government keeps, has hit its lowest point since 1983. The reserve has dropped from 656 million barrels in July of 2022 all the way down to just 346 million in February.
- The pace of innovation seems to be increasing exponentially. To reach 1 million users it took Netflix 3.5 years, Facebook 10 months, and Spotify 5 months. The new artificial intelligence chatbot (ChatGPT), however, reached 1 million users within 5 days!
Bloomberg - "‘What Everyone Got Wrong About the Economy - and the Ominous Implications for the Fed"
Morningstar- "Time to Consider Emerging Markets?"
Datatistic- "Strategic Petroleum Reserves Now Lowest Since August 1983"
Capital Ideas - "3 Views on the Future of Growth Investing"
Economic Calendar
Monday:
Durable goods orders (Jan), Core orders (Jan), Pending home sales (Jan), Fed Gov. Jefferson speaks
Tuesday:
Advanced U.S. trade balance in goods (Jan), Advanced retail inventories (Jan), Advanced wholesale inventories (Jan), S&P Cash Shiller home price index (20 cities) (Jan), Chicago Business Barometer (Feb), Consumer Confidence (Feb), Chicago Fed President Goolsbee speaks
Wednesday:
Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari speaks, ISM manufacturing (Feb), Construction spending (Jan), Auto sales (Feb)
Thursday:
Initial jobless claims (Feb), Productivity (revision) (Q4), Fed Gov. Waller speaks, Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari speaks
Friday:
ISM services (Feb), Dallas Fed President Logan speaks, Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman speaks
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