What I’m Reading
Baby Boom? A recent Bank of America research note struck an optimistic tone compared with the poor demographic data in the 2020 Census. The report showed that birth rates are beginning to tick up and leading indicators – such as the sale of pregnancy tests – point in the direction of a potential Millennial baby boom. If this proves to be true, it would be a major shot in the arm for the US economy. CNBC
Cash Rich: Lenders are releasing money that was set aside for COVID defaults that never occurred, sending profits -and excess capital levels – soaring. Bloomberg
Pile Up: The number of cargo ships off the Ports of LA and Long Beach continues to increase. There are now a record 111 container ships waiting to get into the ports despite a 24/7 schedule and looming fines. Business Insider
Pitching a Fit: Up until this week, bond yields had been doing what they tend to do when the Fed begins to taper – falling. Then Wednesday’s CPI report came in hot at 6.2% YOY, spooking the market and sending rates soaring. One new risk is that the Fed will end asset purchases more quickly than they have carefully telegraphed and markets will witness another “Taper Tantrum” like we last saw in 2013. Bloomberg
Hard to Crack: Zillow’s misadventure in iBuying shows how difficult it is for AI to compete in a non-commoditized market like housing where there is massive information asymmetry between buyer and seller. Washington Post
Chart of the Day
This seems like a major narrative violation and looks less like a “broken” supply chain than one that is simply overwhelmed with increased demand.
Source: Wells Fargo Securities
WTF
Winging It: A Utah man was arrested for firing a gun at his father after he came home with the wrong order of chicken wings. NY Post
He Who Smelt It…: An inmate charged with assaulting his roommate told cops that the victim “farts too much stinking up the cell” and fails to “give a courtesy flush” after using their shared toilet because Florida. The Smoking Gun
Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related. Visit us at RanchHarbor.com