Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Exponentially Decaying MZM Money Stock Growth


Click to enlarge.

The hyperinflationist poning will continue until morale improves.

In all seriousness, ZIRP hasn't exactly led to hyperinflation in Japan either (at least so far).

And why might that be? It is difficult to grow our $12.7 trillion MZM money supply when the average interest rate paid on it is a mere 0.075%. I know. Crazy theory.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Merger Idea: The Sears' Shack (Musical Tribute)

Sears + Radio Shack?

What's not to like!



See Also:
Our Pillars of Retail Strength
RadioShack's Complex

Nominal Aggregate Wage Growth by Decade


Click to enlarge.

1960s: 7.56%
1970s: 9.47%
1980s: 7.24%
1990s: 5.65%
2000s: 3.68%
2010s: 3.90%

Sense a downward trend? Is it any wonder that GDP growth is anemic and interest rates are so low?

It isn't that the 2010s are extremely weak. They are. It's that wage growth in the 2010s is extremely weak even with rapidly falling unemployment *and* a complete lack of recessions (so far). We're barely beating the 2000s and that era had both a dotcom bubble *and* a massive housing bubble pop. Talk about setting the bar low.

Will the 3.90% growth rate in the 2010s hold for the full decade? I believe that it would take a miracle to go another 5+ years without a recession. I won't be holding my breath. Let's just put it that way.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Compensation of Employees, Received: Wage and Salary Disbursements

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

The "Rising" Interest Rate Environment

The following chart shows the natural log of the 6-month treasury yield. First, constant exponential growth (or in this case, decay) can be seen as a straight line. This makes it easier to see which way yields are growing and more importantly, how they are growing (or in this case, decaying). Second, using natural logs makes it easier to see the recent tiny movements in the nearly microscopic yields.


Click to enlarge.

As seen in the chart, there is little evidence that we shall be breaching the "line of death" anytime soon. We continue to drift away from it. Further, one might even argue that the bond market isn't expecting a robust Christmas season this year. Someone might argue that anyway and I certainly would not be the first to offer much in the way of a counterargument. I did manage to find someone who bought the breaching theory 5 months ago though.

April 2014
2014 Interest-Rate Outlook: Higher Rates for Borrowers, Little Change for Savers

The spread between short-term and long-term rates will grow. Here's what that means to you.

I absolutely love opinions stated as facts and what they must mean to me! Can't get enough!

Rising interest rates have been the talk of Wall Street—and Main Street—for months.

Months? Try years. Has this person been living in a cave since the Great Recession?

Despite the recent fluctuation in yields, the return on ten-year Treasuries has climbed more than one-half percentage point over the past 12 months, to 2.7%, and Kiplinger’s expects yields to reach 3.5% by the end of 2014.

There are just a few months left on the mythical 3.5% by the end of 2014 prediction. And while we are waiting for that, let me amuse you by describing the monkeys flying out of my, well, you know. Oh, yes. Here they come now! Very much the harbinger of higher real yields and renewed prosperity for all! Bottom yield monkeys for the win!!

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Real Dividend Growth Anarchy (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows real dividend growth (adjusted for inflation) since 1940. I have added a polynomial trend channel in red (showing the growing anarchy) and an average in blue (3.73%).


Click to enlarge.

Yes, sir. This is just what soon-to-be retiring baby boomers need most. It's the kind of "steady" growth that only excessive leverage and/or risk taking can provide! Baby boomers need new shoes!

1. Three straight years well above the average! Woohoo!
2. No chance of ever returning to the mean! Woohoo!
3. Predictable and sustainable dividend growth from here! Woohoo!
4. Way to go Fed! Congratulations! You've won for all of us! Woohoo!



Too much sarcasm? Have I crossed the line?

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Monday, September 22, 2014

Real GDP Growth (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 10 year moving average of annual real GDP growth. I have added a linear trend in red and a channel to go with it (± 0.9%).


Click to enlarge.

1. Why are we stuck at the bottom of the awful trend channel?
2. Is it any wonder that real yields have been falling for decades?
3. Where are we headed from here and why am I in this basket?



No stop signs
Speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Real Gross Domestic Product

Escape Velocity Failure (Musical Tribute)

February 28, 2013
Fed's Evans sees economy achieving "escape velocity" by 2014

"I am optimistic that we have appropriate policies in place to help the economy achieve escape velocity by 2014," he said, even as he acknowledged the downside threats to the economy from U.S. fiscal consolidation and economic troubles overseas.

September 18, 2014
Fed: Forget “Escape Velocity,” Not Gonna Happen, Ever

But beyond its crummy joke, the Fed has done something else: it has removed “Escape Velocity” – the economic surge in the US that has been falsely promised for five years in a row to rationalize soaring stock prices – from its vision of the future.

The Economic Projections of Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank Presidents, as the report is called, cut GDP projections for all years to come, as far as the Fed’s eye can see...

Clawing Our Way Back to Mediocre (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 4 year moving average of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index.


Click to enlarge.

A zero value for the index indicates that the national economy is expanding at its historical trend rate of growth; negative values indicate below-average growth; and positive values indicate above-average growth.

Let's zoom in.


Click to enlarge.

Can we work our way back to 0.0? So close and yet so far!

Why do I have this uneasy feeling that the next leg will be down? Put another way, our upward momentum seems to have tapered. Fed pun intended.



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Chicago Fed National Activity Index