All Things in Moderation

Vital Statistics:

Stocks are lower this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are down.

We have a temporary reprieve of the government shutdown, with agencies to -re-open until Feb 15. This will allow Congress more time to work on some sort of deal on border security. Trump is willing to shut down the government again, or use emergency powers to secure funding. Note that Trump said over the weekend he is skeptical that Congress will come up with anything he would be willing to sign.

With the government shutdown over, we should start getting economic data again. We will have a big week for data, with GDP on Wednesday and the jobs report on Friday. Not sure what is going to happen with the missed data from the shutdown.

The FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday, however no change in the Fed Funds rate is expected. Jerome Powell will hold a press conference after the meeting, which is unusual for January meeting. The Fed Funds futures are pricing in only a 1% chance of a hike, so the press conference will be about something else – probably balance sheet runoff and the idea that the Fed’s balance sheet will probably end up closer to current levels than it will be to pre-crisis levels.

Note there has been some criticism that the Fed’s balance sheet reduction is behind the sell-off in the market. They believe that the Fed’s reduction in Treasury purchases, combined with higher borrowing amounts is causing rates to rise and that is spooking investors. The idea is that government borrowing is crowding out other investments by soaking up all of that excess liquidity in the market. The Fed isn’t buying that argument: “It’s hard to fathom the [Fed] balance sheet is having some dramatic effect,” Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in a Jan. 17 interview. FWIW, if Fed buying was the catalyst for the sell-off, we should be seeing a steepening of the yield curve (in other words higher long term rates). In fact, we are seeing the opposite. IMO, the biggest reason for the sell off has been the re-introduction of money market instruments to the investment menu. For the past 10 years, they have paid nothing and therefore money market investors have been forced to invest in stocks and longer term bonds. Now that short term rates are rising again that money is returning to its natural home, which means some selling in the stock and bond markets as the trade is unwound.

D.R. Horton reported fourth quarter net income increased 52% YOY, although that was partially driven by a tax charge in Q4 last year. Orders were up 3% in units and flat on a dollar basis. Donald Horton, Chairman of the Board said: “Sales prices for both new and existing homes have increased across most of our markets over the past several years, which coupled with rising interest rates has impacted affordability and resulted in some moderation of demand for homes, particularly at higher price points. However, we continue to see good demand and a limited supply of homes at affordable prices across our markets, and economic fundamentals and financing availability remain solid. We are pleased with our product offerings and positioning for the upcoming spring selling season, and we will adjust to future changes in market conditions as necessary.”

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