Markets Face Headwinds in First Half of 2024: Barry Knapp, Ironsides Macroeconomics
Jan 11, 2024
auto_awesome
Barry Knapp of Ironsides Macroeconomics discusses the economy and markets in 2024. Topics include the Fed's influence, recovery in earnings, deflationary shock in goods prices, interest rates, bond rally, yield curve inversions, and stock outlook.
Investment cycle and technological innovations can improve productivity in various sectors.
Bond returns may not be attractive, and yields could grind higher over time.
Deep dives
Summary of Main Idea 1
The speaker discusses the importance of productivity and how a strong investment cycle and technological innovations can lead to improved productivity in various sectors, such as industrials, energy, materials, and healthcare.
Summary of Main Idea 2
The speaker highlights the current challenges in the bond market, including concerns about supply and the potential for further downgrades of US debt. They suggest that bond returns may not be attractive and that yields could grind higher over time.
Summary of Main Idea 3
The speaker emphasizes the potential for a growth scare and a deterioration in the labor market, which could lead to the Federal Reserve cutting rates and a subsequent positive impact on stock markets. They recommend being underweight tech and overweight cyclical sectors like industrials, energy, and materials.
Summary of Main Idea 4
The speaker discusses the potential for a technology revolution in the healthcare sector, which could lead to improved productivity and make the sector more appealing. They also mention the importance of considering Fed independence and its potential impact on the future of monetary policy and inflation.
This episode was recorded on Jan. 8, 2024, and made available to premium subscribers the following day -- without ads or announcements. For details on how to become a premium subscriber (it's very easy), visit our Substack or Supercast.
Barry Knapp of Ironsides Macroeconomics rejoins the podcast to discuss his outlook for the economy and markets in 2024.
Content Highlights
Knapp's outlook for 2023 played out until September. Then the Fed changed the rules of the game somewhat and markets now face a difficult period... (3:29);
Investors are expecting a recovery in earnings, which may be hard to achieve (7:00);
The drop in inflation can be traced to one cause: a deflationary shock in goods prices (8:57);
How the Fed can justify interest rates as soon as March... (11:36);
Why bonds haven't continued to rally this year (16:58);
The Fed will cut to 4% by year-end and the yield curve should dis-invert with 10-year Treasury yields rising to 4.5% (22:06);
Fed independence is taken for granted. That may be about to change... (28:35);
Only four occasions post WWII have seen yield curve inversions this deep. All have led to major recessions... (36:40);