Morning Report: Inflation falls

Vital Statistics:

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

Inflation at the consumer level fell in April, which was the biggest drop since 2008. The headline index fell 0.8% MOM and rose 0.3% YOY. This was primarily due to energy and airline flights. Ex-food and energy it fell 0.4% MOM and rose 1.4% YOY. Energy was the dominant trend, however food prices increased due to supply chain issues.

Small business optimism fell in April according to the NFIB. “The impact from this pandemic, including government stay-at-home orders and mandated non-essential business closures has had a devasting impact on the small business economy,” said NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg. “Owners are starting to benefit from the PPP and EIDL small business loan programs as they try to reopen and keep employees on staff. Small business owners need more flexibility, though, in using the PPP loan to support business operations and liability protection so that all these efforts to support small businesses are not ultimately lost in costly litigation.”

Homebuilders are beginning to offer incentives to entice buyers. FWIW, D.R. Horton noted in its first quarter earnings that it hasn’t had to resort to price cutting. For the most part, the builders went into the crisis without a ton of inventory, so we shouldn’t see big price drops.

Author: Brent Nyitray

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