FRI News and Press, First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund From 01/04/23

Summary I expect traditional fossil fuel energy companies to continue to excel, rising to up to 30% of the S&P 500 in the upcoming years as technology stocks continue to shrink. After the most aggressive series of rate hikes in decades, inflation is finally moderating. Whether or no...

Summary Today’s high prices may well lead to tomorrow’s low prices, and tomorrow may arrive sooner than many feared. Asynchronous reopening is set to bedevil the global economy for at least another year. Broad housing market activity during much of 2022 suggests that w...

Summary Although the change in public REIT equity prices over the past 12 months would not suggest it, 2022 actually saw earnings growth arrive above our initial expectations. We forecast total returns for REITs in 2023 to be between +8% to +12%. Longer term, we maintain our outlook...

Summary The market crashed because the high inflation forced the Fed to hike rates. But now inflation is coming back down, and a pivot is coming. If you are still sitting in cash, take this as a serious warning. It appears that the period of high inflation is finally comin...

Summary U.S. equity markets closed out their worst year since the Financial Crisis with a fourth-straight week of declines as Treasury yields jumped back to seven-week highs on renewed inflation and COVID concerns. Dragging its full-year declines to nearly 20%, the S&P 500 slipped 0...

Summary Rising mortgage interest rates clobbered the single-family housing market in 2022. Rates have come down a little since October but remain twice as high as the cheapest rates available a couple of years ago. Workarounds for high mortgage rates will facilitate some transaction...

Summary According to the National Association of Realtors, "Pending home sales slid for the sixth consecutive month in November." The MoM came in at -4.0%, up from a 4.7% decrease last month. Over this time frame, the US population has grown by 17.5%. By Jill Mislinski ...

Summary All the positive sales and earnings forecasted are concentrated in the top 15% of all stocks that I monitor. In other words, institutional buying pressure is focused on fewer stocks than normal. Energy stocks are big winners in 2022. In addition to high energy prices, the buying...

Summary U.S. equity markets declined for a third-straight week as benchmark interest rates surged after the advance of a $1.7 trillion federal spending package overshadowed another slate of encouraging inflation data. Declining for a third-straight week and finishing back on the cusp of...

Summary Dec. 23rd release of the November New Home Sales from the Census Bureau came in at 640K, up 5.8% month-over-month from a revised 605K in October. The median home price is now at $471K. The Census Bureau's mid-month population estimates show a 77% increase in the US populatio...