Tag Archives: economy

surviving the next twelve months (iv)

June 12, 2015 By in bond market, Constructing a Portfolio, Portfolio management, securities markets, stock market, Strategy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

what makes me optimistic

I’m a growth stock investor.  So I’m optimistic by nature.

More to the point, the two worries about thinking stocks will go sideways to up as the Fed normalizes interest rates are that:

–recovery in the US may continue to be sub-par..  

If so, the normalization process is going to take a looong time, since the Fed’s goal is to raise interest rates at a slow enough pace that the economy in unaffected.  Yes, the Fed may make a mistake, but the error it typically makes is to wait too long to raise rates, not to raise them too fast.

In addition, there’s serious discussion in economic circles that maybe the way we have measured economic progress in the US in the post-WWII era has passed its “use by” date and isn’t capturing what’s going on in an Internet-centric world.  After all, it took many years for government data to acknowledge that personal computers enhanced productivity and increased consumers’ well-being.  We’re now in the midst of a much greater period of change–the baton-passing from Baby Boomers to Millennials and the demise of the post-WWII corporation designed on the model of the 1940s Army.

Maybe the economy is a lot hardier than we now think.  If so, the strength of earnings growth may not be the issue the market perceives it to be.

–the rest of the world is a mess…

therefore the 50% of S&P 500 earnings that comes from abroad will  be a source of disappointment.

As far as commodity-based emerging economies are concerned, “mess” is probably an apt characterization.  But they’re (thankfully) only a tiny portion of the foreign 50% of S&P earnings.  The key areas for the index are Europe and Asia, especially China.

As far as Europe goes, there’s evidence that the worse of the recession is behind it.  The euro may have bottomed against the dollar, as well.  The EU is still struggling with the problem of Greece.  But that’s not because Greece is a key economic driver for the EU (quite the opposite), but because Brussels fears that allowing/forcing one member to leave the union will set a precedent, and encourage separatist political parties elsewhere.

I have no idea whether Greece goes or stays.  But I think that the negative economic consequences for Greece–Cuba is the only analogue I can come up with, and it’s not a very good one (Argentina?)–of leaving the EU will be so devastating for the country that Grexit itself will silence separatists.

There are also the first signs of economic stabilization in China.

So maybe the half of S&P earnings that come from abroad also won’t be as bad as the market now thinks.

an active strategy

areas to avoid–stocks whose main attraction is their dividend

areas to emphasize–Internet economy, firms catering to Millennials

 

 

surviving the next twelve months (iii)

June 11, 2015 By in bond market, junk bonds, Portfolio management, securities markets, stock market, Strategy Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

In the past in the US when the Fed has raised interest rates from recession-emergency lows, bonds have gone down and stocks have gone sideways to up.

Will this time be an exception?   …another way of saying, Will stocks go down this time around?

The generally accepted explanation of the divergence between stocks and bonds while the Fed is normalizing interest rates after a downturn is that the negative effect of higher rates is offset, in the case of stocks, by the positive effect of strong earnings growth.  Bonds–other than junk bonds, or municipal bonds–don’t have this offsetting factor.  So for Treasuries the news is all bad.

(There are at least two reasons why interest rates matter for stocks:

–broadly speaking, people (me being a possible exception) don’t actually want to own stocks.  What they want is to own liquid long-term investments so they can fund their retirements and send their kids to college.  Those can be either stocks or bonds.  A decline in the price of bonds makes them more attractive, taking some of the shine off stocks.

–in broad conceptual terms, the worth of a company should be related to the value in today’s dollars of its future earnings.  To the extent that investors use today’s interest rates to discount future earnings back to the present, rising rates will result in lower present values.)

 

I remain squarely in the “sideways to up” camp, but I can see, and am monitoring, two possible worries that may weaken the case for s-t-u:

–in what has been to date a sub-par rebound from recession, earnings growth may not be as strong as in prior recoveries, and

–the S&P 500 is a global index, about half of whose earnings come from abroad.  Even if US-sourced earnings are great, the same may not be true for foreign-sourced.  In particular, an increase in the value of the dollar vs. the euro caused by increasing interest rate differentials (the worry of the IMF and World Bank) could mean a lower dollar value for EU-sourced earnings (which make up about a quarter of the S&P 500 total).

More tomorrow.

 

the IMF request to the US–don’t start raising rates until 2016

June 4, 2015 By in Current Market Thoughts, economics, EU financial crisis, Federal Reserve, Recent Market Action, stock market Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

the report

In its annual review of the US economy, the IMF has included a request that the Fed postpone raising rates until the first half of 2016  (I’ve searched without success for the 10-page analysis on the IMF website, so I’m relying on the FT and Bloomberg for my information.)

To start with the obvious, this can’t be the first discussion of the idea of pushing back rate hikes between the IMF–dominated by EU interests–and the Fed.  The release isn’t the act of some nerdy economist (is there any other kind?) tacking the request on to a report that the top figures in the IMF didn’t review.

No, this is the IMF going on record as saying  it thinks the Fed beginning to normalize rates this year is a bad idea   …and that its request for delay has been rebuffed by the Fed.

the rationale

Its rationale seems to be that higher short-term interest rates might cause a sharp contraction in credit availability in the US and a consequent inadvertent loss in domestic economic growth momentum.  Given that the EU is counting on reasonable demand in the US for its exports, the follow-of effect of the US stalling might be disappearance of green shoots of recovery in the EU as well.

Higher rates might also cause the US dollar to rise.  While a stronger currency would slow the US economy further, it would also increase the attractiveness of foreign goods and services (including vacations) vs. domestic.  The latter factor would be an overall plus for the EU.  Companies would be the main beneficiaries, however.  Ordinary consumers would be hurt through a rise in the price of dollar-denominated goods like food and fuel.

the response

The consensus view in the US, I think, is that:

–official statistics understate the strength of the US economy,

–seven years of intensive-care-low interest rates in the US is long enough,

–a rise of .25% or .50% in rates would have no negative effect

–it might also be a positive, in the sense that the Fed would be signalling that the economy can at least partially fend for itself.

In short, the view is that prolonging anticipatory anxiety is far worse than raising rates a tiny bit and seeing what happens.

The EU economy, on the other hand, is maybe two years behind the US in absorbing the negative effects of the near collapse of the financial sector.  Instead of flooding the area with money–the US approach–it has relied on collective austerity to heal itself.   Sort of like leeching vs. antibiotics.

So the EU has less ability to deal with the negative effects of a US slowdown than the US itself has.  Dollar strength would be another blow to an already beaten-down EU consumer, fueling further politically disruptive far right sentiment, which to me already looks pretty ugly.

In the Greenspan era, the US would probably have accommodated the EU.  Post-Greenspan Fed chairs have made it clear, in contrast, that US interests come first.  The IMF comments reinforce that this is still the case.

Etsy (ETSY)

May 22, 2015 By in internet, Stock ideas, Trading Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

ETSY debuted on Wall Street on April 16th at an offering price of $16 a share.

The initial trade was at $31.  The stock fluctuated between $28.22 and $35.74 before closing at $30.

Since then, the stock has been steadily drifting back toward the IPO price.

The stock dropped by 18%, to $17.20 on Wednesday, after the company reported a disappointing March 2015 quarter.  The consensus estimate of (three) Wall Street analysts was that the company would report non-GAAP earnings of $.03 a share.  The actual was a loss of $.12.

Revenue for the quarter rose by 44.4%, year on year.  Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation/amortization), which is arguably the most flattering possible way of presenting profits, rose by 9.3%.  Also, in ETSY’s case, the adjusting removed both a $20.9 million foreign exchange loss and a $10.5 million yoy increase in income taxes.  On a GAAP basis, ETSY had a loss of $0.5 million in 1Q14 and $36.6 million in 1Q15.

Media comment about the sharp drop in the stock price after the earnings report puts the blame for the decline on the narrow slate of IPO underwriters and on ETSY’s “authentic” counterculture philosophy/image.

I don’t think that’s the case, at least not directly.

To my mind, the central fact is that ETSY’s March quarter ended more than two weeks before the IPO priced.

The stock’s price action since then says to me that on the first day of trading investors weren’t aware of how weak 1Q15 results would be.  The steady decline in following sessions suggests that the bad news was gradually making its way into the market.  The 18% drop on announcement implies the actuals were worse than the rumor mill had been whispering.

Where was ETSY management while all this was happening?

I can only see two possibilities:  either the company has terrible financial controls and was unaware during and after the quarter how weak the quarterly results would be; or it did know and decided–presumably at the urging of the underwriters–not to disclose this plainly to potential investors during the road show.  Neither one makes me want to run out and buy the stock.

Note:  I haven’t studied ETSY carefully and I didn’t see the roadshow.  My picture of what’s happened is based on reading the earnings report and observing the stock’s trading history.

 

 

 

cyclical growth vs. secular (ii)

May 15, 2015 By in currency markets, Recent Market Action, securities markets, stock market, Strategy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Same topic as yesterday, different starting point.

When the monetary authority begins to tighten policy by raising interest rates, it does so for two reasons:

–the domestic economy is giving signs of overheating, that is, of growing at an unsustainably high rate, and needs to be reined back in before runaway inflation results

–too much money is sloshing around in the system, and finding its way into more and more speculative investments.

For stock market investors, the tightening process implies two things:

–the rate of profit growth in business cycle-sensitive industries is peaking and will begin to decline, and

–playing the greater fool theory by holding crazily speculative investments will no longer work as excess money is siphoned out of the economy.

However the Fed proceeds, the second effect will surely happen, I believe.  But the US economy can scarcely be said to be overheating.  Despite this–and the Fed’s promised vigilance to prevent a meaningful slowdown in economic activity, I think all stocks–and cyclical ones in particular–will be affected.

Why?

…because the Fed tapping on the brakes lessens/removes the ability of investors to dream of a possible openended future cyclically driven upsurge in profit growth.  Whether specifically aimed at this or not, Fed action will have the effect of tempering Wall Street’s avaricious dreams.

What about dollar weakness, EU growth, China…?

In every cycle there are special factors.  They don’t change the overall tone of the market, though.

The main effect of a weaker dollar and stronger EU economic performance will be to increase the attractiveness of EU stocks, and of US names–principally in Staples and IT–with large EU exposure.  Look for the stocks with big holes in December and March quarterly income statements.

As for China, who knows?   My guess is that the Chinese economy won’t deteriorate further from here.  But the main China story , as I see it, will be the country’s gradual shift to consumer  demand-drive growth along with the substitution of local products for imports.  To me, both aspects suggest that well-known US, EU and Japanese China plays won’t regain their former glory.

My bottom line:  the shift from cyclical to secular may be more modest than usual this time, but it will still be there.  A more conservative mindset argues against further price earnings multiple expansion for the market.  So future market gains will depend entirely on earnings growth. The larger immediate effect will likely be in the loss of market support for very speculative stocks.