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U.S. consumers are supporting growth, while credit tightening at the Federal Reserve and moderate economic expansion in the U.S. contrast with a sluggish global economy and generally stimulative central bank policies. Dollar strength and commodity weakness continue. Despite a roughly flat year for the broader market, commodity-related equities sharply underperformed the S&P 500 Index. Looking ahead, interest rates are likely to rise slowly, while the risk of recession remains relatively low.
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Despite some risks, the U.S. economic outlook for 2016 appears favorable. Overview The Economy… Despite some risks, the U.S. economic outlook for next year appears favorable. Consumer fundamentals continue to improve while household and corporate balance sheets are generally healthy. However, the prospect of rising interest rates poses a risk. Fed policy makers have indicated a gradual path is likely for future rate increases, suggesting a keen awareness of the risks to growth from overly aggressive tightening. Global economic expansion is also a concern. While the U.S. depends less on exports than many other nations, the combination of slow growth and a strong dollar weighs on some sectors. Our Leader’s index rose to 56 in the latest month from 50 in the prior month. Combined with our cyclical score of 70, we see the probability of recession in the next six to twelve months as relatively low. …Inflation… The CPI rose in October after falling in the previous two months, helped by a slight increase in energy prices. The latest AIER Inflationary Pressures Scorecard points to a neutral reading, with 10 indicators supporting rising inflationary pressure and 11 suggesting pressure is falling. Two are stable. The major change this month came from wages and productivity. Rising private compensation levels and higher labor costs, along with lower growth in productivity, put upward pressure on inflation. But this was offset by a decrease in other producer costs. Overall, there is no evidence that inflation will change significantly in either direction in the coming months. …Policy… The Fed is expected to raise its target for the overnight lending rate between banks by a small amount this month, the first increase in almost a decade. Since this move is widely anticipated, it is unlikely to have significant economic effect. At the same time, legislation pending before Congress would impose a new requirement that the Fed publicly disclose its interest-rate strategy and its reasons for any deviations. The bill, which has passed the House and is unlikely to pass the Senate, raised objections from the Fed, which is worried about its independence. …Investing With bond yields near 60-year lows, it’s difficult to justify expected total returns in the high single-digit range, as we have seen since 1982 for this asset class. Investors should carefully review asset allocations and be prudent in estimating future gains. U.S. equities have struggled this year as the effects of falling commodity prices and slow global growth weigh on the economy and earnings for some sectors. However, earnings are expected to rebound in 2016. Valuations remain close to the long-term average, especially given the low inflation environment. Overall, that suggests a neutral to slightly positive outlook for stocks. Investors may look to maximize exposure to domestic sources of growth such as consumer spending and capital investment outside of commodity-related industries.
READ MOREAs you approach retirement, you’ll likely spend countless hours thinking about how and where to invest after you stop working. Should you get more conservative with your investments? What amount of risk can you tolerate at this stage of life? Should you buy an annuity? These are all important questions about how to finance retirement, but they ignore a critical component of success: How should you withdraw your money from savings?
READ MOREAIER’s annual College Destinations Index analyzes 269 urban areas around the country and ranks them as college destinations based on two categories: the quality of student life and opportunities to prepare for the world of work. Just as the college experience is different at small liberal arts colleges and large state universities, off-campus life offers different experiences in small and large cities. We sorted urban areas by size and analyzed 11 attributes in two categories (Table 1). We learned that in the large and midsize metro areas, most of our highest-ranking places—regardless of city size—earned their spot because of their prep-for-work opportunities. Most of our highest-ranking small cities and college towns earned their rankings for their social and cultural offerings that enhance the quality of student life.
READ MOREDrops in commodity prices are keeping energy and food prices low
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Strong holiday spending could be a gift to the economy Overview The Economy… Steady improvements in consumer fundamentals combined with still-solid consumer expectations provide a positive outlook for holiday spending, which can make or break retailer earnings. The strength of fourth-quarter consumer spending is likely to play a critical role in sustaining overall economic growth. However, our Leaders index fell back to a neutral 50 in the latest reading, adding a note of caution to the outlook. Despite that decline, our cyclical score remains solidly positive, suggesting a relatively low risk of recession ahead. …Inflation… The CPI fell this month, the second back-to-back monthly decline this year. The latest AIER inflation Scorecard points to further downward pressure on inflation for the months ahead. Only seven out of 23 Scorecard indicators support rising inflationary pressure, while 14 suggest falling pressure. The decliners reflect many forces: demand and supply, money, banking and credit, and costs and productivity. …Policy… The Federal Reserve held off raising short-term interest rates at its October meeting. Yet, its follow-up public statement indicated that consideration of a hike will be on the table at the next meeting in December. Markets expect an increase, but some disappointing economic data have left room for doubt. Congress adopted a budget bill that resolves immediate budget challenges. These include suspending the debt limit and setting parameters for government spending through September 2017. The measure also saves the Social Security disability program from collapse and limits for many Medicare participants an increase in Part B premiums that would have been the largest in history. But long-term fiscal challenges remain. …Investing Investors are favoring stocks over bonds as the prospect of interest rate increases tempers the outlook for returns on fixed-income securities. While the plunge in crude oil prices has begun to affect U.S. production, current rates of refining and high gasoline inventory levels are still helping to push pump prices lower. Retail stocks have been strong performers throughout the current cycle, and our economic outlook suggests continued support for fundamentals, but valuations may raise concerns. New cash inflows into equities are tilted heavily toward foreign markets. Reallocation by both strategic (passive) and tactical (active) investors may be a primary cause.
READ MOREAIER’s Everyday Price Index (EPI) decreased 1 percent in September after decreasing 0.5 percent in August.
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Boomers may brake economic growth as they head into retirement. Overview The Economy… Unusual demographic shifts currently underway and slated to last for many more years may be affecting the overall economic growth rate as well as creating pockets of relative strength and weakness. One example is in housing, where multifamily construction has rebounded more robustly than single-family homebuilding following the housing boom and subsequent bust that helped usher in the Great Recession. Our Leaders index improved slightly in the latest reading, while cyclical scores changed little. Taken together, the AIER data suggest that the risk of recession in the coming six to 12 months remains low. …Inflation… The Consumer Price Index slipped month-to-month for the first time since February 2015. This is consistent with last month’s report that inflationary pressure was easing. The latest AIER inflationary Pressures Scorecard points to further downward pressure on inflation for months to come. Only eight indicators out of 23 show rising inflationary pressure, compared with 12 last month. The easing resulted from a recent slowdown in consumer demand and fast growth in supply. A decline in energy prices was another important contributor. …Policy… The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at its September meeting, in line with market expectations. But the central bank’s projections continue to indicate that the first rate hike in more than nine years is likely to occur by the end of December. After holding rates near historic lows for so long, anticipation of the initial step toward normalization in monetary policy may actually stimulate borrowing in the short run as people try to get ahead of future increases. Demographic change is slowing growth in the labor force and gains in educational attainment. The fastest way to reverse this—skill-based immigration—is unlikely to garner political support in Washington. Alternative but slower solutions include making it easier for American youth to continue their education beyond high school. …Investing Yields on mortgage-backed securities are about in line with their historical relationship to U.S. Treasurys. An improving economy and healthier finances for borrowers would boost overall loan quality and help narrow yield spreads slightly. However, the prospect of Fed interest rate increases is likely to boost pressure on yields across the fixed-income spectrum. Lumber futures prices have fallen more than other housing-market indicators would suggest. A bubble in stock prices of U.S. homebuilders from 2000 through 2005 was worse than the better-known tech-stock bubble of the late 1990s. Following the bust in homebuilder shares and the Great Recession, homebuilder stocks since 2011 have slightly outperformed the broader market. Global equity markets have struggled in recent months, reeling from a worldwide economic slowdown, the effects of potentially higher U.S. interest rates, a strong U.S. dollar, and ongoing military conflicts that have created arefugee crisis. For those with a high tolerance for risk, these times can create opportunity.
READ MOREThe annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be announced on Oct. 15, when the last data required to compute it becomes available. But the data already suggest that prices have fallen over the past 12 months, removing the need for an adjustment. If prices have fallen but the COLA is zero, the purchasing power of Social Security benefits would increase.
READ MOREAIER’s Everyday Price Index (EPI) decreased 0.5 percent in August after registering no change in July.
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While China’s slowdown raises concerns about global growth, risks to the U.S. economy are muted. Overview The Economy… Headwinds from China’s slowing growth and a devalued yuan may curb the U.S. expansion, but the risk of a recession remains low. Our Leaders index remained solidly above 50 percent in the latest month, suggesting the probability of a domestic slump is still low. …Inflation… The CPI, compared with a year earlier, continued to advance for a second straight month in July, but future inflationary pressure has eased. In the latest AIER inflation scorecard, 12 indicators support rising inflationary pressure, compared with 17 in the last month’s report, and eight point to falling inflationary pressure, compared with just three last month. The pullback mainly came from a stronger U.S. dollar pushing down import prices and from improving business productivity. Going forward, should the Fed tighten credit by raising key interest rates, it would amplify downward pressures on prices. …Policy… Fed policy makers have long telegraphed their intention to raise short-term rates from near zero this year, but recent market turmoil may have raised fresh concerns about the timing of the first increase in almost a decade. The focus now turns to the mid-September meeting and whether the Fed will use the occasion to begin the normalization process and what policy makers might reveal about the central bank’s future plans. The recent sharp fall in oil prices, driven both by China’s slowdown and rising U.S. crude output, is creating pressure to lift the long-standing U.S. crude export ban. Proponents say ending the policy would raise U.S. prices, stimulating investment, spurring domestic production, and cutting gasoline prices. In July, the U.S. Senate Energy Committee passed a bill to lift the export ban. Whether the measure will pass Congress and how the Obama administration may react if it does remains uncertain, but an end to the 40-year-old policy may be closer than ever. …Investing Slowing growth in China coupled with a devalued yuan and improving U.S. consumer demand all suggest a widening trade gap with China. That, in turn, may lead China to buy more U.S. Treasury securities, helping to restrain gains in long-term yields just as Fed tightening approaches. Commodities are still struggling with no short-term relief in sight. But over the medium term, better global growth and a stable dollar combined with the deep price declines that have already occurred suggest that there may be light for raw materials at the end of a long tunnel. U.S. equities are still getting fundamental support from profit growth. Risks from rising labor costs and higher interest expense may threaten profit margins, but productivity may be the magic bullet that facilitates profit growth and higher wages that can, in turn, boost future spending. Global equities have been volatile and U.S. investors gave mixed signals with their new investment dollars ahead of the worst declines in Chinese markets. New cash would help support markets, while additional withdrawals from global market mutual funds and ETFs would hurt. Fed tightening remains on the horizon as a potential new source of volatility, especially for emerging markets.
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