SMLE News and Press, Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF From 09/27/22

Summary In September 2022, there is no denying that inflation is back, and with a vengeance, though we can still debate how quickly it will fade, and to what level. Since 2008, it has become fashionable to attribute all movements in interest rates to Fed action or inaction, and as...

Summary Our US Equity ETF portfolio has a cash or cash equivalents target of 47%. Inflation may be peaking, but it is doing so at a much higher level than the Fed appears willing to accept. We are continuing with our strategically driven large cash reserve. We're eva...

Summary The headline number of 108 was an increase of 4.4 from the final reading of 103.6 for August. Statisticians may assign little significance to a regression. Consumer confidence and small business sentiment have tracked one another fairly closely since the onset of the F...

Summary Prices were way too high in 2021 due to a flood of stimulus, free money, and the post-corona YOLO mentality. Stocks are now approaching my fair value estimate of around 3300 on the S&P 500 but may fall below it due to forced selling. With the Fed rapidly hiking rat...

Summary US businesses reported a third consecutive monthly fall in output during September, rounding off the weakest quarter for the economy since the global financial crisis if the pandemic lockdowns of early-2020 are excluded. While new orders returned to growth, with gains repo...

Summary The US dollar is trading at multi-decade highs against multiple currencies. This is a major headwind for stocks. But the bigger risk is if the dollar should begin to weaken. The strong US dollar has been a big reason why stocks have suffered in 2022, and that str...

Summary Inflation-adjusted interest rates are rising, rapidly. The lightning surge in real yields has a wide range of implications for macro and markets - a change that is now front and center for monitoring risk factors. As real yields rise further, the allure of locking in h...

Summary The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual estimate of the median income earned by the United States of 131,202,000 households in 2021. Adjusted for President Biden's inflation, however, real median household income fell by $402 year-over-year from 2020 in terms of con...

Summary A wise man told me once - "don't fight the Fed." Just as the market can rise, it can fall. While it may be difficult to fathom, rates are going even higher from here. The economy will feel more pain, and corporate profits should get impacted. The upcoming earnings ...

Summary New orders for durable goods fell 0.2 percent in August, following a 0.1 percent fall in July and a 2.3 percent jump in June. New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, or core capital goods, a proxy for business equipment investment, jumped 1.3 percent in...