Morning Report: Markets fret over the FOMC minutes

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are down.

The minutes from the September FOMC meeting were released yesterday, and may have caused a delayed sell-off in stocks and bonds. Nothing was all that surprising in the document, although some in the business press attributed the sell-off to a surprising consensus that more tightening is needed. There was talk that rates might have to go into restrictive territory as opposed to just neutral territory. That apparently freaked out the bond market, although it didn’t really make a move until closer to the closing bell. FWIW, the dot plot envisions perhaps 2 or 3 hikes in 2019, which probably wouldn’t be characterized as “restrictive” given they just took out the term “accomodative” to characterize current policy. There was also talk about becoming more opaque, and spoon-feeding the markets a little less about what they are going to do. The economic textbooks talk about managing inflationary expectations, and part of that management means keeping markets on their toes. If the markets correctly anticipate what the Fed is going to do, their moves have less of an effect. Sort of like a monetary Heisenberg principle.

Regardless, the Fed was surprised to see how much economic strength there was in the economy (interestingly, they always overshot in their growth forecasts in 2008-2016, but now they are undershooting). Regardless, they are worried about the global economy, and the growth difference between the US and the Eurozone. The strength in the labor market is starting to bring out some cost-push inflation as well. Overall the minutes didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know – growth is strong, inflationary pressures are building, trade wars are bad, and the Fed is going to keep raising rates.

Housing starts disappointed in September, falling 5.3% MOM to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.2 million. This number is up on a YOY basis however. Weather-related issues probably played a part in the disappointing number, however building permits were anemic as well. Most of the decline was in the volatile multi-family segment, while single family was generally up small.

Over 3/4 of Americans view renting as cheaper than owning, according to a survey from Freddie Mac. Blame higher home prices and mortgage rates. Note that 58% of renters don’t intend to buy a home, which is an increase from 54% earlier in the year. Rental supply is also a factor – it recently hit a 3 decade high. In the aftermath of the housing crisis, builders focused on urban rental properties targeted towards 20-something Millennials –  which has created a glut, particularly at the higher price points. In addition, we have a shortage of starter homes, as builders concentrated on the only sector that was working at the time – luxury.

China’s stock market is down 30% this year, in stark contrast to the rest of the world. China has always marched to its own drummer, but they have a serious real estate bubble. If that is unwinding, it will reverberate in the high end West Coast markets.

Author: Brent Nyitray

In the physical sciences, knowledge is cumulative. In the financial markets, it is cyclical View all posts by Brent Nyitray