What we’re reading (10/12)
“Fed Minutes Show Concerns Of More Persistent High Inflation” (Wall Street Journal). “Federal Reserve officials expressed concern at their meeting last month over the persistence of high inflation, underscoring their intention to continue raising interest rates in large steps despite the pain that could cause. Policy makers revised higher their expectations for rate increases, though some signaled caution about overdoing them amid risks of economic and financial volatility, according to minutes of the Sept. 20-21 gathering released Wednesday.”
“Heating Costs Forecast To Soar This Winter” (CNN Business). “No matter how you heat your home, the cost of that heat is likely to soar, according to a forecast Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration. Based on current estimates for fuel prices if, as forecast, there’s a slightly colder winter ahead, the EIA estimates that heating a home with natural gas heating costs will rise about $200 on average, or 28% to $931 for the winter.”
“Europe Likely Entering Another COVID Wave, Says WHO And ECDC” (Reuters). “Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday.”
“‘No Housing Market Is Immune To Home-Price Declines’: Home Values Are Already Falling In These Pandemic Boomtowns.” (MarketWatch). “Rising rates and waning buyer demand is finally weighing on home prices. With the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging at 7.12%, according to Mortgage News Daily, Zillow, Realtor.com, and John Burns Real Estate Consulting, all noted price drops in cities that were hot over the last two years. Most of these cities were pandemic boomtowns, as remote work enabled many workers to find housing outside of big, expensive mega-cities.”
“These Factors Outperform During Recessions” (Institutional Investor). “According to the latest report from Investment Metrics, a Confluence company, growth and value factors have little impact on investment returns during periods of low consumer confidence, with value stocks losing an average of 1 basis point and growth stocks gaining an average of 1 basis point. The numbers are so close to zero that Alex Lustig, author of the report, concluded that neither factor offered any premiums during these periods. Meanwhile, the volatility factor lost 37 basis points, suggesting that highly volatile stocks have consistently underperformed during recessionary periods. Quality and large-cap stocks, on the other hand, have outperformed their respective benchmarks when consumer confidence has plunged into recessionary territory.”
