The only unhappy investors this year have been the Debbie Downers, permabears, and other pessimists
Channel: Payne Capital
Date: 2023-02-12

#StockMarket #Economy #recession 
All three indexes finished January higher, including an 11% rise in the Nasdaq, in part because investors had expected the Fed to end its campaign to raise interest rates and eventually lower them.

Last month brought plenty of affirmation for stock market bulls with lots of favorable data releases and a more dovish-sounding Federal Reserve chairman. The data depicted an economy that is not headed for recession, but to the surprise of many remaining quite robust amid signs of disinflation. Economic developments have been mostly positive and well-received by the markets and have exceeded even this optimist's expectations. The only unhappy investors this year have been the Debbie Downers, the permabears, and other pessimists who are convinced that 2023 will be as bad or worse than 2022, for the economy and for the market.

Consider the following, lots of jobs filled and still open, the December JOLTS report showed there were 1.9 jobs for each unemployed person, the economy added 517,000 jobs last month as the employment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969. There's plenty of purchasing power with wages and salaries climbing. January's auto sales jumped to 16.2 million units from 13.6 during December, while the services PMI rebounded to 55.2 from 49, signaling an expansion. And the housing market may be bottoming as mortgage rates have edged down and home prices are falling. The pending existing home sales index edged up in December, and the new housing market index did the same during January. So bottom line, the economic news is not aligned with the permabears' narrative for the economy or the market. Perhaps it's time for the pessimists to heed the advice of English economist John Maynard Keynes, who so famously said, 'When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"

facebook.com/PayneCapitalManagement/
paynecm.com/
twitter.com/paynecmwealth
instagram.com/paynecapitalmgmt/