What we’re reading (8/2)
“Why Apple Shareholders Shouldn’t Be Too Worried After The Earnings Selloff” (CNBC). “‘Let’s face it, if Apple has any trouble getting chips, then every other company on the planet will have 10x those problems,’ said Nick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. ‘If you’re really worried about chip supply, you want to own Apple because it is first in line at every chip fab.’”
“Fed's Kashkari Warns Delta Variant Fears Are Keeping Millions From Restarting Work And Could Slow The Labor Market's Recovery” (Business Insider). “As many as 9 million Americans are holding back from returning to work as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said Sunday…The Federal Reserve policymaker said he had hoped the job market would revive in the fall with millions going back to work, and he still expects that to be the case.”
“A Tsunami Of Deferred Debt Is About To Hit Homeowners No Longer Protected By A Foreclosure Moratorium” (Washington Post). “A Washington Post analysis of the Census’s Household Pulse Survey showed that although the percentage of homeowners surveyed who were behind on their mortgage has declined from 7.8 percent at its peak in mid-December to 4.7 percent in early July, the share of delinquent homeowners who experienced a loss of income due to unemployment has increased to 14.5 percent. That number is even higher among those who reported they used money saved from any missed or deferred payments to meet spending needs, at 18.8 percent.”
“Home Prices Are Soaring. Is That the Fed’s Problem?” (New York Times). “It’s an unattractive prospect to pull back monetary support to try to rein in housing specifically, because doing so would slow the overall economy, making it harder for the central bank to foster full employment. The Fed’s policy-setting committee voted Wednesday to keep policy set to full-support mode, and Mr. Powell said at a subsequent news conference that the economy remains short of the central bank’s jobs target.”
“Foot Locker To Buy Two Shoe Store Chains For $1.1 Bln” (Reuters). “Pent-up demand for sneakers and athletic gear from U.S. shoppers, as well as government stimulus have boosted Foot Locker's sales this year, but the company has said it was looking to focus beyond malls whose traffic has been pressured by the pandemic and a surge in online shopping.”
