Fed Cuts & Inflation

*Sorry for the delay in posting we were experiencing serious computer issues

One of the questions on everybodys’ minds is how high would inflation need to go before the Fed would reconsider any further rate cuts. During the recent months’ we have seen increasing down side risks to the US growth forecast, while at the same time growing inflation expectations. This is a dangerous mix in terms of continuing to use Fed policy as a stimulus to the economy. Historically, looking back at the data (since 1995), we can see that the Fed has never lowered rates when the Core CPI has gone above 2.9%, this means we could have at some room left, before the Fed rates cuts could potentially come off the table. To further test this we applied an ordered probit model with a grouping of economic indicators (ISM, core PCE – 2.0% inflation target, & a 1 month lag in the change in initial claims - 350) to see how the current situation compares to those in the past and to see which way the Fed is likely to move and in what magnitude based on inflation rates. What we discovered after running the model for both Core CPI and Core PCE (which we see as the Fed’s indicator of choice) was in-line with our original estimation that for the Fed to reconsider the cuts we would need to see the Core rates move to between 2.7% & 3.0%. Currently, the Core PCE and Core CPI are at 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively, with expectations rising.

To quantify the rate change we created five categories ranging from –2 to 2, with 0 implying no change. We created these categories after individually analyzing all FOMC rate changes from 1995 until 2007. To quantify the change we categorized the magnitude of the Fed rate hikes or cuts at each individual meeting into three groups: 0, 0.25%, and =>0.50%. So for example, a rate hike of 0.50% points would lead to a score of 2, while a rate cut of 0.25% would equal a score of -2.

With the left-hand side variable defined this way we ran them using an ordered Probit model against the ISM, inflation gap, and initial claims. We found that all of the variables were statistically significant.

The results show that the implied Fed rate change currently stands at -0.03 on our scale of -2 to 2, and has decreased in intensity over the last two months from its interim low of 0.09 in June (Chart 1). This movement corresponds to the decreasing growth and wavering employment levels. The current reading shows that there is a downward Fed bias, which implies the Fed is more likely to lower rates rather than raise them…

Conclusion:

So long as the Fed considers downside risk to growth exists we can expect that rate cuts will remain on the table as long as Core PCE remains below the 2.7% to 3.0% range, or growth conditions do not deteriorate more significantly.

Fed likely to go 50 (Another look at China, India, Las Vegas Sands, and an introduction to Taiwan)

This mornings GDP reading of +0.6% will outweigh the positive ADP number and lead to an additional cut of 50bps at today's meeting. However, if the Fed were to cut by only 25bps we would expect a large sell-off in the US and global EQ markets; leading to in our opinion to another good buying opportunity. Fundamental economic data in the US is still not pointing towards a US recession, but both the EQ and FI markets continue to price one in. Our view is that the housing problem continues to be just that, a housing problem. We would need to see a clear spill-over into consumption before we began to worry. Keep in mind housing wealth is only a small component of consumption, with financial wealth and income making up the rest. Financial wealth and housing wealth tend to have a lagged and marginal effect on consumption verses income whose effect is both strong and immediate. Meaning, so long as we continue to see good employment (claims below 350K, etc..) and growing income levels we do not expect to see a recession. The way we see it is that we are still in the midst of a good buying opportunity and remain bullish on China, India, and Las Vegas Sands.

As an aside, we are now looking into the Taiwanese EQ market. The recent parliamentary elections in Taiwan provided the China 'friendly' party with a landslide victory; a result which is likely to follow in the March 22nd Presidential elections. Once the new administration takes power they will likely strengthen ties with China and Taiwan will begin to share in China's economic success, from which it has remained mostly isolated. To take advantage of this market we are looking into the ETF 'EWT', which attempts to track the braod Taiwan EQ market.