TBD (=To Be Determined). This seems the mode of governing of the Trump Administration. With so many contradictions and cross currents in Washington, experts are having difficulty predicting the next step for the Trump team. Hence, the reason to take an attitude of TBD.
Daily Archives: March 8, 2017
Update – Washington
The U.S. stock market has jumped since the November 8th election. We identified 4 initiatives on which the U.S. stock market is speculating to be successfully accomplished early in the Trump administration. What will happen next? TBD
The 4 initiatives will have a tremendous influence on the “Heat Map” which forms the basis of our forward looking view of the U.S. economy. I consider the success or failure of the 4 initiatives to be “leading” indicators for the Heat Map.
Below are the 4 Trump administration initiatives upon which the stock market is speculating and what progress, if any, has been made:
- Tax cuts and tax reforms benefiting most individuals and businesses- NO PROGRESS RECENTLY. CUMULATIVE PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL: 0%
- Infrastructure spending of up to $1 Trillion over the upcoming 7 to 10 years. NO PROGRESS RECENTLY. CUMULATIVE PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL: 0%
- Affordable Care Act amendment, reform or reorganization. BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE TOOK THE FIRST STEPS TO REPEAL THE ACT. NO REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN FINALIZED. CUMULATIVE PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL: 5%
- Roll back of government regulations and Executive Orders considered to be difficult for businesses. ROLL BACKS HAVE CONTINUED AND SEVERAL TRUMP NOMINEES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CONFIRMED BY THE SENATE. CUMULATIVE PROGRESS TOWARD GOAL: 10%
As the action happens in Washington on these 4 initiatives, don’t be surprised if the political “tug and pull” contest results in a wilder than normal stock and bond market.
We will continue to report in future issues on the progress on each initiative.
The “Heat Map”
Most of the time, the U.S. stock market looks to 3 factors (call them the “pillars” which support the stock market) to support its upward trend – let’s grade each of the pillars.
CONSUMER SPENDING: This grade is A- (very favorable). Favorable activity in the housing market continues to support growth in the level of spending. This category’s grade will improve if and when the Trump legislation is passed.
THE FED AND ITS POLICIES: This factor is rated C-. A slew of Federal Reserve governors spoke this week, all of them with the same message: The time has come for a rate hike. Janet Yellen, in a Friday speech, drove that message home, signaling the Fed would probably raise interest rates at its two-day meeting that ends on March 15. Some worry the Fed could risk undermining the recovery.
BUSINESS PROFITABILITY: This factor’s grade is raised to a B (above average). Fourth-quarter earnings are on pace to grow by 8.4%, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, nearly double the 4.3% gain reported during the third. And analysts see earnings advancing at a double-digit clip during 2017’s first two quarters. Now it’s earnings that are driving shares higher. “With earnings turning positive,” they said, “we have a solid catalyst for 2017 turning out to be a good year.”
OTHER CONCERNS: The “Heat Map” is indicating the U.S. stock market is in OK shape ASSUMING no international crisis. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest level of crisis, we rate these international risks collectively as a 3. These risks deserve our ongoing attention.
The Numbers
Last week, U.S. Stocks and Foreign Stocks increased. Bonds declined. During the last 12 months, STOCKS outperformed BONDS.
|
Returns through 3-3-2017 |
1-week |
Y-T-D |
1-Year |
3-Years |
5-Years |
10-Years |
|
Bonds- BarCap Aggregate Index |
-.5 |
0.2 |
1.1 |
2.4 |
2.1 |
4.2 |
|
US Stocks-Standard & Poor’s 500 |
.7 |
6.8 |
22.1 |
11.1 |
14.1 |
7.9 |
|
Foreign Stocks- MS EAFE Developed Countries |
.5 |
4.7 |
12.1 |
.1 |
5.3 |
1.2 |
Source: Morningstar Workstation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three, five and ten year returns are annualized excluding dividends.
“Your Financial Choices”
The show airs on WDIY Wednesday evenings, from 6-7 p.m. The show is hosted by Valley National’s Laurie Siebert CPA, CFP®, AEP®. This week Laurie will discuss:
“More Listener Questions”
Laurie will take your calls on these topics and other inquiries this week. Questions may be submitted early through www.yourfinancialchoices.com by clicking Contact Laurie. This show will be broadcast at the regular time. WDIY is broadcast on FM 88.1 for reception in most of the Lehigh Valley; and, it is broadcast on FM 93.9 in the Easton and Phillipsburg area– or listen to it online from anywhere on the internet. For more information, including how to listen to the show online, check the show’s website www.yourfinancialchoices.com and visit www.wdiy.org.
Motivational Quote of the Week
Repeat after me: “I can do this.” – Barbara Love
The Markets This Week
Like an English major wading through James Joyce’s Ulysses, the market last week was trying to make sense of overlapping narratives. That didn’t stop it from extending its weekly winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the 21,000 mark for the first time, gaining 183.95, or 0.9%, to close the week at 21,005.71—its fourth straight weekly gain. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose to 2383.12, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4%, to 5870.75; both have been up for six straight weeks.
Much of the action was compressed into one day. After barely moving last Monday and Tuesday, the Dow surged more than 300 points on Wednesday, its largest one-day point gain since Nov. 7, just before the election that swept Donald Trump into office. That the big gain followed Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday night wasn’t lost on many observers, who noted its conciliatory tone. “Trump became presidential,” Strategas Research Partners Dan Clifton wrote in a note to clients last week. The market appeared to agree, even if some of the enthusiasm was tamped down by the need for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself over his unacknowledged contact with Russia’s ambassador during the presidential campaign.
But it was more than just a speech that got the market’s juices flowing. Barclays strategist Keith Parker points to the slew of economic data that was released in the hours following the address. A survey of Chinese manufacturing activity rose for the eighth month, while a similar measure in the U.S. hits its highest reading in nearly three years. “You have synchronized developed-market and emerging-market growth,” Parker says. “That’s a big driver of the rally.”
Is sentiment getting too frothy? The big gains have prompted strategists to lift their S&P 500 projections, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch taking its target to 2450, from 2350, and Stifel taking its to 2500, from 2400. And then there’s Snap (ticker: SNAP). Its initial public offering went off without a hitch after all, as the stock soared 44% on its first day of trading, from the offering price of $17 to a closing price of $24.48. The move meant that Snap left $1.5 billion on the table, the fourth largest amount ever, according to data from University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter.
Yet Snap, at this point, remains something of a one-off, as others remain reluctant to go public. And Merrill Lynch’s Sell Side Indicator, a measure of Wall Street’s bullishness, still sits in neutral territory despite hitting its highest level in 16 months, a level that in the past has preceded an average gain of 17% over the following 12 months.
Yes, the market narrative has many strands. But for now, they’re pointing to a happy ending.
(Source: Barrons Online)