VPN - Inflation Is Worse Than It Looks

• U.S. equity markets rallied to fresh record highs this past week as long-term interest rates retreated despite inflation data showing the highest annual rise in consumer prices in decades.
• A seemingly insatiable bid for Treasury Bonds - a counterintuitive trend that some analysts likened to a "short squeeze" - sent the 10-Year Treasury Yield lower for the fourth-straight week.
• Real estate equities led the way following a positive slate of REITweek updates and some major M&A news. Equity REITs rallied 2.5% on the week while Mortgage REITs gained 0.8%.
• Incredibly, the recent surge in CPI inflation has come despite any significant positive contribution from the largest component in the consumer basket - shelter - which the BLS only surveys every six months.
• Residential REITs confirmed that rents are soaring in early 2021 as the red-hot home ownership market has seemingly "passed the torch" to rental markets as double-digit rent growth is now commonplace across many regions.

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