Thursday, April 18, 2024

Daily Economic Update: April 18, 2024

Another down day for equities as bets on rate cuts continue to get pushed out further into the future, with some strategist now pushing cuts out to 2025 and some bank strategist at UBS warning that the Fed may need to raise fed Funds to 6.5% by mid-next year.  Despite that sentiment, yields managed to fall and the 20Y Treasury auction was solid.  The 2Y is 4.93% and the 10Y is 4.59%.

In a Substack Note, Economist Brad DeLong, characterized what he sees as the current sub-era of post-GFC monetary policy as "waiting for a shoe- any shoe to drop".  He goes on to say that the Fed's current willingness to see long-term real interest rates rise as a sign that the Federal Reserve has:
"reached two conclusions: 
1. It no longer believes that considerations as to what it thinks r* is can guide monetary policy and its adjustment. 
2. The major risk is not a deep recession and a return to the zero interest-rate lower bound, but rather some sort of rebound in inflation and a consequent de-anchoring of inflation expectations."
Maybe it all comes down to R-Star.   Back on August 23, 2023, I mentioned Knut Wicksell's theory that while you could not see the natural rate, you could see the impact of policies that kept rates above or below this rate by looking at trend growth rates.

Away from Fed land, Howard Mark's had his latest letter published yesterday titled, 'The Indispensability of Risk' .  If you read this blog you can check out my summary on Mark's previous memo here.
As for the current memo it is based on the role of sacrifice in chess, as highlighted recently in a recent WSJ article, and how that can be applied to the world of investing.
  • In chess sacrificing a piece can serve one of two purposes: (1) a "sham" sacrifice -  when one gives up a piece in order to obtain a concrete benefit that can be calculated and (2) "real" sacrifice - when giving up a piece provides no immediate or tangible benefit but may offer some strategic benefit.

  • "The analogy to investing begins to become clear. Buying a 10-year U.S. Treasury note is a modest or “sham” sacrifice. You give up the use of your money for ten years, but that’s only an opportunity cost, and accepting it brings the certainty of interest income. Most other investments involve real sacrifices, though, where the risk of loss is borne in pursuit of “gains that are neither immediate nor tangible.”

  • In chess players often intuit the level of risk and have to decide if making a risky move is worth it.

  • In investing "Because the future is inherently uncertain, we usually have to choose between (a) avoiding risk and having little or no return, (b) taking a modest risk and settling for a commensurately modest return, or (c) taking on a high degree of uncertainty in pursuit of substantial gain but accepting the possibility of substantial permanent loss."

  • While most investors understand that earning high returns, both in absolute and relative terms, requires bearing meaningful risk, they may take for granted that "The risk inherent in not taking enough risk is very real. Individual investors who eschew risk may end up with a return that is insufficient to support their cost of living."

  • "There’s such a thing as the risk of taking too little risk. Most people understand this intellectually, but human nature makes it hard for many to accept the idea that the willingness to live with some losses is an essential ingredient in investment success."

  • "You have to take a shot. Not every effort will be rewarded with high returns, but hopefully enough will do so to produce success over the long term. That success will ultimately be a function of the ratio of winners to losers, and of the magnitude of the losses relative to the gains. But refusal to take risk in this process is unlikely to get you where you want to go."
I know Mark's is a big Buffett fan and reference's what he sees as the basis for the success of Berkshire in this latest letter, but perhaps the memo is just another way of stating what Buffett recently summed up in the last Berkshire Hathaway annual letter:
"One investment rule at Berkshire has not and will not change: Never risk permanent loss of capital. Thanks to the American tailwind and the power of compound interest, the arena in which we operate has been – and will be – rewarding if you make a couple of good decisions during a lifetime and avoid serious mistakes."

Remember optimism and taking risk is not incongruent with "Margin of Safety".

XTOD: Sebastian Steudtner, a German pro surfer, rode a wave over 115 feet tall at Nazare, Portugal, a record breaking surf!

XTOD: How bad is  @CathieDWood  ? Over the last 5 years she has now returned -7% in $ARKK she trails the $SPX by 88% and $COMP by 107% respectively. Maybe think twice about shoving her face on TV again.

XTOD: Economics is an ecosystem and I love most or perhaps even all of it. Theorists. Empiricists. Government statisticians. Ivory tower academics. In the trenches think tankers. Investment bank economists. Government economists. Tweeters. And many more I didn't mention.

XTOD: Bank of England policy maker Megan Greene said developed economies including the UK face a “bumpy ride” as central banks squeeze out the final effects of the global inflation shock

XTOD: Clarity comes from cutting out the clutter.  Pinpoint your focus, relentlessly eliminate noise, and watch productivity soar.

XTOD: Tony Robbins believes that, in a lowered emotional state, we only see the problems, not solutions.   Let’s say you wake up feeling tired and overwhelmed. You sit down to brainstorm strategies to solve your issues, but it comes to naught, and you feel even worse afterward. This is because you started in a negative state, then attempted strategy but didn’t succeed (due to tunnel vision on the problems), and then likely told yourself self-defeating stories (e.g., “I always do this. Why am I so wound up I can’t even think straight?”).   To fix this, he encourages you to “prime” your state first. The biochemistry will help you proactively tell yourself an enabling story. Only then do you think on strategy, as you’ll see the options instead of dead ends.  “Priming” my state is often as simple as doing 5 to 10 push-ups or getting 20 minutes of sun exposure.  I often ask myself, “Is this really a problem I need to think my way out of? Or is it possible I just need to fix my biochemistry?” I’ve wasted a lot of time journaling on “problems” when I just needed to eat breakfast sooner, do 10 push-ups, or get an extra hour of sleep.  Sometimes, you think you have to figure out your life’s purpose, but you really just need some macadamia nuts and a cold fucking shower.

XTOD: In a world loud with information, mute the unnecessary.  Pinpointing the essential is a superpower.

 
https://x.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1780606439330906459
https://x.com/followtheh/status/1780247843145486658
https://x.com/jasonfurman/status/1780325268185583913
https://x.com/business/status/1780603316063363509
https://x.com/GregoryMcKeown/status/1780385755208302938
https://x.com/tferriss/status/1780652338690089243
https://x.com/GregoryMcKeown/status/1780583238286622812

No comments:

Post a Comment

Daily Economic Update: June 6, 2025

Broken Bromance Trump and Xi talk, but Trump and Musk spar.  I don’t know which headline matters more for markets, but shares of Tesla didn’...