and How to Fix It
John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge
Review via The Independent
“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”. The situation must be serious when two of the West’s most prominent economic liberals begin a book by quoting Lenin.
Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait and The Economist’s Adrian Wooldridge do exactly that in their book-cum-pamphlet on how to relaunch Western liberal democracy after the pandemic.
‘Wake Up Call: Why the pandemic has exposed the weakness of the West – and how to fix it’ is one of two newly released books that prescribes how government should change for the benefit of us all.
The ETF Portfolio Strategist: 25 September 2020
Waiting, Watching, Wondering: Maybe it’s the nation’s rising anxiety over the November election. Or worries that the economic rebound is slipping. Whatever the reason, the week that just in ended dispatched losses far and wide.
Is The Post-Crash Reflation Trade Fading?
Last month the Federal Reserve announced that it was adjusting its monetary policy in a bid to push inflation higher. Based on recent trading in the Treasuries market, the crowd remains unconvinced and may be in the early stages of unwinding a months-long rise in pricing inflation expectations higher.
Macro Briefing: 25 September 2020
US officials try to assure public that vaccine will be safe: CNBC
NY state will review coronavirus any vaccines approved by Feds: Reuters
European Union to appeal ruling in favor of Apple in $15 billion tax battle: CNBC
GOP and Dems still trying to reach agreement on new stimulus bill: BBG
House Democrats preparing new, smaller coronavirus relief package: CNBC
Is US policy repeating mistakes in 2009’s economic stimulus? NYT
Investors warily eye prospects for US election: MW
Sales of newly built US homes rose to 14-year high in August: MW
US jobless claims continue to surge–up 870,000 last week: CNBC
An Election Like No Other?
US presidential elections always come with a certain amount of risk since the potential for the transfer of power from one party to another introduces a degree of uncertainty on a range of economic and geopolitical issues. But this year’s Nov. 3 contest promises (threatens) to be unusual for all the wrong reasons.
Macro Briefing: 24 September 2020
J&J vaccine moves to final clinical trials: NYT
New stimulus bill before election looks unlikely: CNN
Republicans move ahead to confirm Supreme Court nominee: WSJ
Fauci tells Congress a US vaccine could be available as early as April: CNBC
California to phase out sales of gasoline-engine cars by 2035: NPR
Trump refuses to commit to peaceful transfer of power in election: BBC
Eurozone growth slows to a crawl in September: IHS Markit
UK growth ‘loses momentum’ in September: IHS Markit
Japan’s economy remains in recession in September: IHS Markit
PMI survey data: US economic rebound continues in September: IHS Markit
The ETF Portfolio Strategist: 23 September 2020
US Stocks Flirting With Fourth Weekly Decline: It’s only Wednesday, Sep. 23, but the downside bias for US equities is building. At today’s close, Vanguard Total US Stock Market (VTI) shed 2.6% for the week so far. Today’s sharp pullback more than reverses two days of moderate gains and so it doesn’t take a raging bear to imagine that VTI is flirting with its first run of four straight weekly declines in more than a year.
Long-Term Corporates And Junk Lead Bond Market Rebound
Nearly every corner of global markets has rebounded sharply since the coronavirus crash pulled the rug out of asset prices in March. The US bond market is no exception, which has enjoyed a strong rally. Leading the way higher within the fixed-income realm by a wide margin: long-term corporate bonds, based on a set of exchange-traded funds.
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Macro Briefing: 23 September 2020
House passes legislation to avoid government shutdown: CBS
Wisconsin declares state of emergency as Covid-19 cases spread on colleges: ABC
Coronavirus’s rebound is weighing on the global services sector: WSJ
Eurozone growth slows to a crawl in Sep, PMI survey data shows: IHS Markit
UK’s economic recovery hits setback in Sep as output slows: IHS Markit
Japan’s recession continues in September, PMI survey data suggests: IHS Markit
Growth picked up in Richmond Fed Mfg Index for September: RF
US existing home sales rose to 14-year high in August: CNBC
Is The US Economic Recovery Fading?
Judging by several third-quarter GDP nowcasts, the rebound remains strong. But GDP estimates only capture one dimension of how the economy is faring in the wake of the coronavirus recession. For deeper insight, monitoring various real-time indexes is useful. By that standard, the current outlook remains mixed.