QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” -Galatians 6:9
TECH CORNER
The recession that we have been predicting still has not yet arrived but by all indicators we are getting closer. There are many indicators that point to a recession. The composite Leading Economic Indicator (LEI) is pointed down. The consumer has spent almost all of the savings they accumulated from the Pandemic stimulus drawing it down over $2 trillion.
Inflation is still high and the Fed apparently is going to keep their foot on the brakes by keeping interest rates high. In the Fed’s 110-year history, there have been 18 such tightening cycles and 89% of them have ended in a recession, according to Investech.com research.
Bank lending is drying up due to the inverted interest rate curve, credit card balances just exceeded $1 trillion and car loans are at $1.6 trillion and corporate profits are declining. There is a Debt Maturity Wall for US corporations coming soon with $196 billion for the rest of this year and $327 billion next year that will need to be refinanced at much higher rates.
We are currently positioned in US Treasuries. If the recession comes, this is the correct positioning which is illustrated in the three graphs below. As you can see during the last three recessions, US Treasuries have had a positive return and the stock market as illustrated by the S&P 500 have had a negative return.
When managing your money, we will always follow the data and position your portfolio for the best possible chance of success.