What we’re reading (8/20)
“Target Just Went From Great To Bad To Ugly. But The Worst May Be Over” (CNN Business). “Target just demonstrated how quickly things can change in the world of retail, posting a terrible quarter after nearly two years of soaring profits and record revenue growth. But the big box retailer is promising things will change in the other direction just as fast.”
“Tiger Funds Stick To Their Guns” (Institutional Investor). “Talk about conviction. Many of the worst performing tech and consumer-driven Tiger Cubs and related felines more or less stuck with their biggest positions in the second quarter. And given the market’s recent sharp rally, this may well have been the best strategy.”
“Making Sense Of The Housing Market” (City Journal). “[W]hat we sort of saw over the COVID pandemic is interest rates went down a lot, and in tandem, we saw that price-to-rent ratios really rose a lot. So we're applying a much larger multiple to rents in evaluating house prices. That's sort of why house prices kind of went up so dramatically over the course of the pandemic, in addition to other factors like remote work. And what's really interesting and surprising is that we haven't seen that work in reverse. So as interest rates are heading up, we haven't really seen prices really adjust. We haven't really seen price-to-rent ratios really adjust the way that we would naturally expect.”
“Despite Recession Fears And Fueled By ‘Revenge Spending,’ Americans Spend $314 A Month On Impulse Purchases” (CNBC). “As the cost of living surges and more Americans say they are stretched too thin amid concerns about a possible recession, they’re dipping into their cash reserves and nearly half are falling deeper in debt. Still, 73% of adults said most of their purchases tend to be spontaneous, according to a survey by SlickDeals.net — a significant jump from 59% who said the same just one year ago.”
“Chicken Wing Prices Have Plunged To Pre-Pandemic Levels. Here’s Why That’s Great News For The Stock Market.” (Insider). “Chicken wing prices have fallen 62% from their peak to levels not seen since 2019. ‘That is not ‘cooling’ inflation... This is outright deflation. Prices falling to 2019 levels is a 3-year decline,’ [Fundstrat’s Tom] Lee said.”
