Morning Report: Personal Incomes rise more than expected

Vital Statistics:

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

Personal incomes rose 0.4% in August, while personal consumption rose 0.1%. Income surprised to the upside, while spending disappointed. Inflation remains within the Fed’s target, with the core PCE index rising 0.1% MOM and 1.8% YOY. The headline PCE, which includes food and energy, was flat MOM and up 1.4% YOY. Wages and salaries were up 0.6% MOM and up 4.8% YOY. Given that inflation is running below 2%, we are seeing real wage growth.

Durable goods orders rose as well, increasing 0.2%, while the Street was looking for a decrease of 1%. Ex-transportation they were up 0.5%, again above expectations. Business capital expenditures disappointed, however falling 0.2%.

Pending home sales rose 1.6% in August, according to NAR. “It is very encouraging that buyers are responding to exceptionally low interest rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The notable sales slump in the West region over recent years appears to be over. Rising demand will reaccelerate home price appreciation in the absence of more supply.” The Western region was up 8% YOY as falling mortgage rates are improving affordability.

Millennials are continuing to leave the big cities, as they head to the suburbs to raise families (and also get priced out). New York City lost almost 38,000 young adults last year, which was twice the decline it had seen in the previous few years. When the Millennials were younger, urban walkable environments were all the rage and many in the industry thought this time was different. It wasn’t. The Millennial generation is getting married later and having kids later, but it seems like they are going for the same thing every generation prior to them wanted: space, good schools, etc. This is good news for the builders at the lower price points. Take a look at PulteGroup’s chart below.

The IPO market is still broken. Peloton was the most recent IPO to break price on the open. “Break Price” means to trade below the IPO price. It opened around $27 versus an IPO price of $29. This won’t help We Work’s IPO which is looking like an absolute dumpster fire as the price keeps getting cut. Historically, IPOs would trade at substantial premiums to their offering price, but those days are over. This represents the change in who pays the bills for investment banks, from the buy side to issuers.

Author: Brent Nyitray

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