ZF News and Press, Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. From 09/02/21

The economy overall is booming in a way that has the labor market healing far faster than thought not long ago. Yet, American workers already sidelined by two huge recessions (we still hadn’t recovered from the prior one) just are not streaming back into the workforce. The ...

The winning streak for American shares rolled on in August. US stocks rose for a seventh straight month and posted the strongest gain for the major asset classes. US bonds also lost ground in August. The Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index slipped 0.2%, the first monthly decline for the be...

After several strong quarters for value stocks, the last few months have seen a sharp reversal in favor of growth. The probability of any particular value stock being a “value trap” in a given year is about 30%. Value stocks are currently trading at a 40% discount to...

In the most recent Labor Department release, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.3% in the second quarter of 2021, as output increased 7.9% and hours worked grew 5.5%. U.S. corporate profits hit a record high last quarter, despite supply chain disruptions, a labor s...

In his speech on Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed that inflationary pressures are cooling and getting closer to the Fed’s 2% target rate. Powell also acknowledged that some inflation is a “cause for concern” and implied that higher prices could be more permane...

Equities wobbled a bit midway through August, but they have since regained their mojo, all but confirming that the bull market in equities remains strong and unchallenged. A reduction in the pace of QE is coming, in both the US and Europe. Indeed, the pace of asset purchases already h...

Stability breeds instability. This steady climb foreshadows a fragility shock. Our caution signs are on yellow. We warned that the summer would be like a rollercoaster, and it has been for most stocks. Is the “back to work” trade coming back to life? We think it may ...

If the unemployment rate is too high for the Fed’s mandate, ending QE might be more effective at solving that problem than continuing it, but I doubt stocks would like it - and that seems to matter to the Fed today. The economy is a multi-faceted, global beast which is controll...

Strategas Investment Strategist Ryan Grabinski dives deep into recent updates to the Baird Market Gauge ("Sentiment" moved to Favorable from Unfavorable) and hints at a few areas to watch over the coming months. The S&P is trading at about 22x forward earnings, which is elevated. ...

A softening of sentiment indicators comes as rates already sit close to the bottom of their recent range. Positioning might push them lower still, but EUR rates, in particular, are already consistent with more central bank support next year. The belly of the US curve trades cheap,...