US Federal Reserve

Complacency about U.S. stocks has become so widespread that losses may lie ahead, according to Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets. In a report Friday, Belski cited the ratio of the S&P 500 Index’s price-earnings ratio to the VIX Index, "which essentially shows how much investors are willing 'to pay' for a given level of market risk."

As Bloomberg notes, the ratio rose this month to its highest reading since 1994.

Authored by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog,

The Federal Reserve would like to raise target interest rates because of inflation concerns and concern that asset bubbles are forming. Part of their concern seems to arise indirectly from the rise in oil prices, relative to their low level in early 2016.

Figure 1. WSJ figure indicating likely reasons for rate hike.

Many of the 2017 economic headwinds I’ve described will hit during the Ides of March, just as the Trump stock-market Rally shows signs of topping out. This might not be the Great Epocalypse — not all at once anyway — but a large and likely correction is looming. I think the bear is about to be let out of his cage. 

Thanks to commodities, Bloomberg's Mark Cudmore warns that the Fed meeting is more likely to be the death knell for reflation trades rather than mark their moment of victory.

This week is set to provide confirmation that we’re in the midst of a true tightening cycle in the U.S., with rate hikes in consecutive quarters for the first time since 2006.

 

 

The Fed meets this week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The market believes that there is an 86% chance the Fed will be hiking rates during this meeting. The Fed has been broadcasting this for a month straight. It is possibly THE most expected rate hike in years. The consensus is that we will see a 0.25% rate hike bringing the Federal Funds Target rate to 0.75%-1.00%.

BORING.

No one makes money by trading the most expected thing. With that in mind, what the Fed does or doesn’t do is largely irrelevant as far as I’m concerned.