What we’re reading (12/29)
“Consumers Kept The Economy Hot In 2022. Now They’re Losing Steam” (CNN Business). “Consumer spending remained resilient throughout much of 2022. However, stubbornly high inflation has taken its toll and knocked the stuffing out of the financial cushion. With interest rates poised to go higher in 2023 and economic uncertainty sure to grow, consumers could be starting to run dry at the worst time.”
“Just 5 Trading Days Accounted For 94% Of The S&P 500’s Decline In 2022 - And They Could Signal What’s To Come In 2023, DataTrek Says” (Insider). “In fact, just five days are responsible for 94% of the index's losses this year. Those days saw markets fall as much as 4.3% and center around inflation concerns, big corporate earnings misses, and reactions to the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening decisions. And these down days could shed some light on how the stock market moves in 2023. ‘This framework of 'a handful of days make the year' is also a good one with which to consider 2023,’ DataTrek said.”
“Here’s Why Egg Prices Surged In 2022. Those Elevated Costs Could Last Into The First Quarter Of 2023, Expert Says” (CNBC). “Average egg prices jumped 49.1% in November compared with those a year earlier — the largest annual percentage increase among all grocery items in that period, according to the consumer price index, a barometer of inflation. By comparison, the overarching ‘food at home’ category was up 12%. The increase is even more acute when measured by the cost of a dozen large, Grade A eggs, which more than doubled to $3.59 in November from $1.72 the year-earlier month, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis…About 57.8 million birds have been affected by avian flu in 2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data as of Dec. 28. These figures include birds such as turkeys and ducks.”
“GE Is Not A Lost Cause As Healthcare Spinoff Gets Set To Join S&P 500” (TheStreet). “News broke on Wednesday evening that GE Healthcare will enter the S&P 500 when it is spun off from General Electric (GE) and begins trading at the Nasdaq under the symbol GEHC. This happens next Wednesday, January 4, 2023.”
“An Epic Dollar Rally Goes Into Reverse—And Investors Expect Further Declines” (Wall Street Journal). “As of Dec. 28, the dollar has risen 8.9% this year as measured by the WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks its value against 16 other currencies. That would mark its biggest yearly rise since 2014. The index peaked in late September at the highest level in data going back to 2001. But the dollar is ending the year on the defensive, having given back roughly half of its gains since that high-water mark, as investors bet that U.S. inflation is slowing.”
