Tech layoffs are not a signal of stress in the labor market

The Daily Shot: 18-Nov-22
Administrative Update
The United States
The United Kingdom
The Eurozone
Japan
China
Emerging Markets
Cryptocurrency
Commodities
Energy
Equities
Alternatives
Credit
Global Developments
Food for Thought



 

Administrative Update

1. The Daily Shot will not be published on November 24th and 25th (Thursday and Friday of next week).
 
2. If you have trouble viewing images or experience navigation issues (such as “[Message clipped] View entire message” in Gmail), try clicking on “View in your browser” at the very top of the email.
 

 
3. If you are looking for a particular Daily Shot post or a specific image, try searching the archive using the search tool on TheDailyShot.com (it allows image as well as text search). Here is an overview.


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The United States

1. Residential construction was softer last month, but it’s not collapsing yet.
 

 
The weakness was in single-family housing.
 

 
Single-family permits are down 24% versus the same time a year ago.
 

 
Multi-family construction remains robust.
 

 
But there is trouble ahead for construction activity.
 
Source: Piper Sandler   
 
US private investment is expected to tumble next year, driven mostly by stalling residential construction (and, to a lesser extent, slower business investment).
 

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2. Next, we have some updates on the labor market.
 
Initial jobless claims hit a multi-year low, dipping well under pre-COVID levels. Despite the layoff headlines, the job market remains tight.
 

 
Continuing claims are also at multi-year lows.
 

 
Given the strength of US tech employment, tech layoffs are not a signal of stress in the labor market. The stock market has been rewarding companies that cut costs in recent months, incentivizing tech firms to announce layoffs (more in the equities section). See the comment below from Morgan Stanley.
 
Source: Morgan Stanley Research  
 
Pantheon Macroeconomics expects a strong payrolls gain this month.
 
Source: Pantheon Macroeconomics  
 
Morgan Stanley expects payrolls growth to remain positive next year, …
 
Source: Morgan Stanley Research  
 
… with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3% by the end of 2023.
 
Source: Morgan Stanley Research  

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3. The Philly Fed’s regional manufacturing index showed further deterioration in factory activity this month (worse than expected).
 

 

 
The Philly Fed’s report does not bode well for manufacturing at the national level.
 
Source: @TheTerminal, Bloomberg Finance L.P.  
 
Hiring is slowing.
 

 
Manufacturers increasingly expect to be cutting workers’ hours as demand slumps.
 

 
Price pressures have moderated, but they are not gone.
 

 
Businesses expect price gains to keep slowing in the months ahead.
 

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4. The Kansas City Fed’s manufacturing index remains in contraction territory.
 

 
Export orders are sinking.
 

 
Price pressures are moderating, …
 

 
… as supply bottlenecks rapidly disappear.
 

 
CapEx plans are evaporating.
 

 
The CapEx slowdown is a national trend.
 
Source: BCA Research  

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5. Supply chain stress levels are returning to pre-COVID levels.
 
Source: RSM, @tuannguyen0709  
 
Container shipping costs are down nearly 80% from a year ago.
 

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6. Auto loan delinquencies are rebounding from the pandemic-era lows.
 
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York  
 
Student loan delinquencies are about to jump as payments become due again.
 
Source: CNET   Read full article  
 
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York  

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7. Much of the Treasury curve is now inverted.
 
Source: Chart and data provided by Macrobond  
 
Source: Tradeweb  


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The United Kingdom

1. The austerity 2.0 “can” has been kicked down the road.
 
Source: @financialtimes   Read full article  
 
Source: Pantheon Macroeconomics  
 
2. The UK standards of living are taking a hit.
 
Source: Reuters   Read full article  
 
Source: @TheIFS  
 
Government support to cap household energy bills is becoming less generous.
 
Source: ING  
 
Here is what economists think will happen to household consumption next year.
 

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3. Consumer confidence edged higher this month but remains depressed.
 

 
4. Brexit regrets are on the rise.
 
Source: @YouGov   Read full article  
 
5. Remote work share remains elevated.
 
Source: VoxEU   Read full article  


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The Eurozone

1. Car registrations are above last year’s levels, but that’s not a good benchmark.
 

 
2. Construction output is holding at pre-COVID levels.
 

 
3. Inflation should be moderating as margin pressures ease.
 
Source: Pantheon Macroeconomics  


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Japan

Inflation continues to surge.
 

 
Excluding the impact of consumption tax hikes, inflation is at a three-decade high.
 
Source: Capital Economics  


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China

1. Renminbi implied volatility remains elevated.
 
Source: @themarketear  
 
2. Short-term bond yields surged this month.
 
Source: @markets   Read full article  
 
3. China’s inflation has been much lower than in other Asian economies.
 
Source: @albertedwards99  
 
4. The housing surplus is massive.
 
Source: @business   Read full article  
 
5. Hong Kong’s unemployment continues to ease.
 


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Emerging Markets

1. Stable rice prices helped some EM Asia economies contain food inflation.
 
Source: Gavekal Research  
 
Nonetheless, many Asian central banks continue to hike rates.
 
Indonesia:
 

 
The Philippines:
 

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2. After months of declines, South Africa’s retail sales ticked higher in September.
 

 
3. Argentina’s banking system is increasingly financing the public sector, particularly via central bank debt.
 
Source: Reuters   Read full article  
 
4. Bond fund outflows have been most severe in local-currency debt.
 
Source: EPFR Global Navigato  


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Cryptocurrency

1. Bitcoin positioning has been increasingly bearish.
 
Source: JP Morgan Research; @themarketear  
 
2. Coinbase bonds are under pressure.
 
Source: @WSJ   Read full article  
 
3. VC deal activity in crypto has slowed, with declines likely to continue.
 
Source: @axios  
 
4. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has diverged sharply from bitcoin, …
 

 
.. as the discount to NAV exceeds 40%. Blocked by the SEC, Grayscale has been unable to unlock the fund’s value by converting it to an ETF.
 


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Commodities

1. Iron ore is rebounding on hopes of China’s “reopening” and property developer bailout.
 

 
2. Copper held resistance at the 200-day moving average.
 
Source: @TheTerminal, Bloomberg Finance L.P.  
 
3. Commodity funds continue to see outflows.
 
Source: Morningstar  


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Energy

1. Russian oil output has been resilient.
 
Source: BCA Research  
 
But there is a great deal of uncertainty around Russia’s oil production next year.
 
Source: Longview Economics  
 
This chart shows crude shipments by destination.
 
Source: @business, @JLeeEnergy   Read full article  
 
Will exports be stranded by the western dominance of tankers?
 
Source: TS Lombard  

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2. LNG will help fill the gas supply/demand imbalance next year, according to Deutsche Bank.
 
Source: Deutsche Bank Research  
 
EU gas storage is nearing 2019 levels, but much will depend on the weather this winter.
 
Source: @WSJ   Read full article  

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3. US residential electricity prices are very high.
 

 
4. US natural gas in storage has reached the 5-year average.
 
Source: @EIAgov  


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Equities

1. Equity funds are seeing inflows.
 
Source: BofA Global Research  
 
2. A pause in volatility?
 
Source: @JessicaMenton, @Matt_Turnerr  
 
3. The Philly Fed’s manufacturing index is signaling a sharp decline in earnings expectations.
 
Source: @MikaelSarwe  
 
4. Margins are going lower.
 
Source: Alpine Macro  
 
Here is a look at margin contraction risk by sector.
 
Source: Oxford Economics  

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5. The 2008 analog is not dead.
 
Source: @MichaelMOTTCM  
 
6. Short-covering hasn’t been prominent in this rebound.
 

 
7. The market has been rewarding companies for cutting costs this year as the operational efficiency factor outperforms.
 
Source: Morgan Stanley Research  
 
As a result, tech companies have been incentivized to announce job cuts.
 
Source: Morgan Stanley Research  

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8. Next, we have some updates on the options market.
 
The put/call ratio hit the highest level since 1997.
 

 
What’s keeping index options traders awake at night? Here is the vol term structure.
 
Source: @TheTerminal, Bloomberg Finance L.P.  
 
Short-term options volume share has exploded.
 
Source: Goldman Sachs; @carlquintanilla  
 
Lower interest rate volatility is a tailwind for stocks.
 
Source: @MacroAlf  
 
This chart shows the retail options trading market share.
 
Source: @WSJ   Read full article  


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Alternatives

1. Equity hedge funds’ leverage remains relatively low.
 
Source: Goldman Sachs; @markets, @luwangnyc   Read full article  
 
2. Publicly-listed alternative funds experienced outflows last month.
 
Source: Morningstar  
 
3. Family offices have been boosting private equity holdings (2 charts).
 
Source: @wealth, @BenStupples, @amanda_albright   Read full article  
 
Source: @wealth, @BenStupples, @amanda_albright   Read full article  


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Credit

1. Fund flows point to a rotation from leveraged loans to high-yield bonds.
 
Source: BofA Global Research  
 
2. The equity market signals pain ahead for corporate credit.
 
Source: Alpine Macro  


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Global Developments

1. It’s been a rough year for investors.
 
Source: TS Lombard  
 
2. The dollar index (DXY) held above the 200-day moving average.
 
Source: barchart.com  
 
3. Tanker values are at a 13-year high.
 
Source: VesselsValue data    Read full article  
 
4. Here is a look at housing ownership and rentals in advanced economies.
 
Source: Deutsche Bank Research  


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Food for Thought

1. Full days worked from home (stabilizing at 30%):
 
Source: WFH Research   Read full article  
 
Employer plans for remote work:
 
Source: WFH Research   Read full article  

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2. Asset returns across the great powers:
 
Source: Principled Perspectives  
 
3. How does Goldman Sachs make money?
 
Source: @genuine_impact, h/t @MattGarrett3  
 
How does JP Morgan make money?
 
Source: @genuine_impact, h/t @MattGarrett3  

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4. Alcohol-induced deaths in 2020:
 
Source: CDC  
 
5. Atmospheric CO2 concentration:
 
Source: @financialtimes   Read full article  
 
6. Life satisfaction by age:
 
Source: FlowingData   Read full article  

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Have a great weekend!


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