QQXT News and Press, First Trust NASDAQ-100 Ex-Tech Sector Index Fd From 02/08/23

Summary The US trade surplus in services dipped further in 2022, from the already beaten down levels of 2021, to $244 billion, the lowest since 2012, and the fourth year in a row of declines. Imports of goods spiked by $425 billion, or by 15%, to $3.28 trillion. Exports of goods jum...

Summary The Cleveland Fed forecasts inflation to start plateauing in January and February. The Fed will have to be more aggressive and hike above the currently expected 5.1%. Long-term nominal interest rates expected to rise, and the bear market in TLT expected to continue. ...

Summary Since 1973, there have been 7 recessions and heavy truck sales fell before each one with a lead time of about 13 months. In the ’73 and ’90 recessions, sales didn’t fall quite 25% prior to recession. Right now, both real and nominal interest rates are st...

Summary Over the past couple of months, we have seen a clear downtrend emerge in the coincident measure of economic growth, suggesting we are on the path to recession. Inflation is also clearly rolling over. However, this is not the case within the labour market nor the services sector,...

Summary So far in 2023, value-indiscriminate buyers are still pounding into the riskiest low-yielding assets with wild abandon. Fat yield spreads above risk-free rates are also known as an attractive reward for capital risk. Since 1920, this month, BBB bonds are yielding about 100 b...

Summary We likely experienced peak rates of inflation during the fourth quarter of 2022, and as price increases abate, the coming months may bring the end of the central-bank tightening. However, we believe inflation is likely to remain above the historically low levels experienced duri...

Summary It's been a while since we've seen a meaningful top in this bear market. Incidentally, 4,200 in the S&P 500 is the 20% bear market bounce many market participants have eyed as a plausible near-term top. The Fed, inflation, worsening economic readings, the consumer, an ea...

Summary In examining the terms growth and value, I now recognize that the two labels should not be given to stocks, but to periods of time when a company is experiencing growth or value. For those of us emotionally connected with stock market prices, there is a tendency to label a ...

Summary There's a massive repricing in rates taking place. The Fed Funds Futures now see a peak terminal rate of 5.1%. The odds are rising that rates go even higher than those projections. All it took was one data point, and now the market is suddenly not only seeing things th...

Summary The transmission mechanism for higher rates to work on the economy would be through borrowing and lending. A reacceleration in NGDP could just mean an acceleration in real growth. Small caps have outperformed large caps since mid-March 2020 but the ride has been bumpier than...