This Week in Summary 9/30/2022
Here is a test for our readers: what caused the 9/29/22 market sell-off that sent the S&P 500 to its lowest level so far in 2022? A) Hurricane Ian, B) jobless claims hitting a 5-month low – implying the need for more Fed hikes to “cool” the economy, C) increasing attention to weakening European economies and?currencies, D) NATO’s threat to retaliate against the apparent sabotage of Russia’s Nord Stream natural gas pipeline which was already shut-off, or E) Russia’s preparation to annex 4 regions in Ukraine. Ok, we admit that we are not exactly sure of the answer, especially after the S&P 500’s inexplicable +2% increase the previous day. In any case, the Bubble Monitor for the period ending 9/29/22 doesn’t look good and mirrors?FedEx’s recent announcement that its real retail sales are “pacing to have the worst decline since The Great Recession”. Maybe the best part of all that red in the dashboard is the drop in crude oil prices which will hopefully lead to even lower gas prices, thus strengthening the stressed?low-income consumer. In any case, those wishing to cheat on the above test may simply answer: silly rabbit, we don’t have to worry about the sell-off because we have?Modern Monetary Theory?to save us. Let’s go with that!????
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