What we’re reading (6/27)
“Stock Futures Rise Slightly Following A Major Comeback Week For Stocks” (CNBC). “U.S. stock futures rose slightly on Sunday night following a major rebound last week from this year’s steep declines. Despite the bounce, Wall Street is preparing to wrap up the worst first half for stocks in decades.”
“Stocks Pace Towards Worst Start Since 1970: What To Know This Week” (Yahoo! Finance). “‘As bad as [this year] has been for investors, the good news is previous years that were down at least 15% at the midway point to the year saw the final six months higher every single time, with an average return of nearly 24%,’ LPL Financial chief market strategist Ryan Detrick noted earlier this week.”
“Sanctions Push Russia To First Foreign Default Since Bolshevik Revolution” (Wall Street Journal). “Russia was poised to default on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918, pushed into delinquency not for lack of money but because of punishing Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia missed payments on two foreign-currency bonds as of late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds. The day marks the expiration of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.”
“The West Wants To Go Further On Russian Oil. Inflation Is Making That Difficult” (CNN Business). “Europe and the United States have barred the import of Russian oil to cut off a crucial revenue source for the Kremlin. But the plan to pile pain on President Vladimir Putin, forcing him to reconsider his war in Ukraine, hasn’t worked.”
“Beware The Dangers Of Sado-Monetarism” (Paul Krugman, New York Times). “But aside from the sado-monetarists themselves, who currently expects inflation to remain persistently high (as opposed to staying high for, say, the next year)? Not the financial markets. On Wednesday, the five-year breakeven inflation rate — a measure derived from the spread between U.S. government bonds that are and that aren’t protected against inflation — was only 2.74 percent. And part of that reflects expectations of near-term price rises that investors don’t expect to continue; the markets expect inflation to fade.”
