(New York)

New data just released shows the US economy is a bit weaker than everyone expected. Second quarter GDP data has been revised downward, showing that the US expanded at only 2.0% in the quarter instead of the first-reported 2.1%. Government spending, weaker exports, and private inventories weighed on the numbers. However, the very good news in the data is that consumer spending increase was the strongest in 4.5 years.

FINSUM: Consumer spending is at its highest levels since 2014 at the same time as bond yields are at extraordinary lows and everyone is worried about a recession. Either a recession will arrive or there will be some big losses in bond markets.

(Los Angeles)

Pimco is probably the most respected name in fixed income, and the firm just went on the record warning about the economy and encouraging the Fed to act. The asset manager argues that the US economy is in worse shape than many think and is admonishing the Fed to cut rates more aggressively than expectations. Pimco says that momentum in the labor market is slowing, the trade war is showing little sign of abating, and the risk of financial excess caused by lower rates appears minimal. According to Pimco, “We can’t emphasise enough that labour market momentum has decelerated more markedly than most forecasters were previously expecting”.

FINSUM: We actually are on the opposite side of the fence as Pimco. We think the market is blowing things out of proportion about the economy and is overly worried. We surely hope we are right.

(New York)

Investors tend to go to the same old ports to ride out the storm of a recession—gold, Treasuries, healthcare, utilities etc. However, finding a new safe haven can be not only the means to good protection, but also solid capital appreciation. With that in mind here is a very unglamorous, but potentially lucrative idea—buy garbage stocks. We don’t mean bad stocks, we mean stocks of solid waste companies, like Waste Management, Waste Connections, and Casella Waste Systems. Garbage companies are highly recession tolerant (it is not as if there is less garbage), and they tend to throw off huge amounts of free cash flow. Michael Hoffman, an analyst at Stifel is recommending these shares.

FINSUM: This seems like a very good recession hedge. Garbage is a very durable sector. Will this be the next recession star?

(New York)

The bond market is doing something that it usually doesn’t—it is scaring stocks. Generally speaking, big sell offs in stocks drive moves in bonds, but rarely do moves in bonds spook stocks. Except for right now, that is. The ten-year yield dropped to 1.48% recently, below the two-year’s 1.51%, signaling another 2y-10y inversion which is a classic recession indicator. But the 3m-10y is even scarier as it touched a fresh new low of negative 51 basis points.

FINSUM: The bond market thinks a recession is coming and that Fed policy is too tight. The velocity with which that sentiment is driving yields is spooking stocks, and rightly so.

(Washington)

Whichever side of the political aisle you are on, the new polls coming out about the 2020 presidential election look misleading. A new Gallup poll released this week showed that Biden has a 54% to 38% lead over Trump. Furthermore, the poll found that any of the 5 top Democratic contenders would beat Trump in the election were they to win the bid. Additionally, 37% of voters reported that they felt the economy was worsening versus 31% who said it was improving, the first time recently that Americans have been pessimistic about the economic outlook.

FINSUM: The polls don’t seem to be doing justice to how close this election feels. They just don’t reconcile for us. That said, the numbers on economic sentiment are quite interesting.

(New York)

Quickly, name a sector that Wall Street hates right now. Auto stocks should come to mind. The car industry is in a sales downturn and is in the midst of broader upheaval brought on by electric cars, new competitors, and changing ownership patterns. The Nasdaq Auto Index is down almost 20% in the last year. However, all the changes have created an opportunity to buy into the sector, but not in car companies themselves. Instead it is high tech car suppliers that look attractive as they have a unique niche to fill in the changing industry. Check out Aptiv, Visteon, and BorgWarner.

FINSUM: This seems like a smart way to play all the shifts happening in the automobile industry.

(Washington)

In what comes as a surprise, the new iteration of the DOL rule may in fact be multiple rules bundled into a package. A lawyer from well-respected industry law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath says they have credible rumors that there will be multiple new rules, and that they will be friendly for those in the industry. The firm says that the new rules will likely be based on the old 1975 five-part test, and that the Best Interest Contract Exemption will be replaced. The new DOL package is also supposed to harmonize well with the SEC’s new Best Interest rule, which was approved in June.

FINSUM: It is good news that this rule is supposed to be more friendly to those in the industry, but it is worrying that there may be multiple rules. The more components there are to the rule, the more likely it will be that it is unclear.

(New York)

It has been a rough road for equities this month. Benchmarks are down 5% and there has been frequent whip-sawing action based on data and news over the trade war. Despite the fears, JP Morgan is telling investors that it is time to buy. The bank’s equity strategists, led by Mislav Matejka think that stocks are going to turn the corner very soon. The bank thinks three elements may catalyze a move higher into the year end—restarted ECB easing, a bigger than expected Fed rate cut, and improving technical indicators on signs the market has bottomed out.

FINSUM: The Fed and the ECB could certainly help support stocks, but it hard to imagine benchmarks gaining much if we keep up the frenzy of trade war news.

(New York)

There are a lot of worries in the market that a recession may be headed the way of both the world generally, and the US more specifically. However, two analysts from well-respected Ned Davis Research have a different opinion. Of their 10 recession indicators which they watch, only one is signaling a recession. In particular, they dismiss five of the market’s biggest worries: the inversion, market breadth, deteriorating economic signals, earnings deceleration, and the trade war.

FINSUM: These guys seem overly optimistic. One of our big questions is whether some weakening signs in the economic actually point to a recession, or are they just part of a temporary ebb.

(Berlin)

American investors keep hearing the same warnings—Europe is slowing, and the malaise is coming for you! But in truth, how bad is the German, and EU economy really looking? The answer is that it is doing quite badly. The manufacturing sector has entered a recession in Germany (the bloc’s largest economy), and the central bank says the country is likely to enter a recession in the third quarter. A big test is going to come this week as numerous consumer data points will be released.

FINSUM: If the gloom has spread to consumers, a recession would appear to be inevitable. The market has sky-high expectations for ECB easing, so let’s hope they are met!