Syz the moment

Mom-and-pop investors bought a record $12 BILLION equities in the 1st week of February 👇 Roughly 70% went to Magnificent 7 ‼️ 🚨 Meanwhile, institutional investors have been selling over the last few weeks! Source: Global Markets Investors, JP Morgan

Brussels is weighing new powers to temporarily cap EU gas prices, which have recently hit record levels compared with the US. European natural gas prices traded at the highest in more than two years this week, in part because of low temperatures and a lack of wind that has hampered renewable energy production. They are between three and four times higher than in the US, providing a critical handicap to European companies. The European Commission is considering a cap as part of discussions about a “clean industrial deal” policy document to be presented next month, said three people with knowledge of the talks. The strategy paper should outline ways to shore up the EU’s heavy industries as businesses grapple with multiple challenges including US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade measures and the EU’s own ambitious green transition. Talks around mechanisms to cap prices, though still at an early stage, have drawn a backlash from industry groups which warn against damaging “trust” in the European market. Link to artivcle >>> https://lnkd.in/eJbxpaKf Source: FT

Today's core CPI is no different. A proxy for underlying inflation is "core" services (in blue on the chart below courtesy of Robin Brooks) and that looks well-behaved. So it could be that this "hot" reading is largely about noise and residual seasonality, as in 2023 and 2024... Source: Robin Brooks

🚨 The Kaplan Group analyzed the State Level Household Debt Statistics from 2003 to 2023, sourced from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Data were retrieved for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and student loans since 2003. The evolution of each of these elements over the last 20 years was calculated. For inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was utilized. 👉 Key Takeaways - Student loan debt is five times larger than it was 20 years ago - Credit card debt has shown minimal growth since 2023; from 2010 to 2016, it was even lower than in 2003 - The total amount of debt has grown by 81.5% since 2003 Source: Visual Capitalist, Voronoi

EU is straight on its way to become an open-air museum. Source: Michel A.Arouet, Augur infinity

(i) border security (Canada, Colombia, Mexico); (ii) geopolitics (steel & aluminum); (iii) fairness (reciprocal tariffs & currency manipulation). China is the only country to be tariffed - and will get tariffed more - as it hits all of these...

Over the last 12 months, US interest payments hit a record $1.2 trillion, surpassing defense spending ($900 billion) and now ranking as the second-largest government expense after Social Security. With trillions in debt maturing this year, the US government will have to refinance. If rates remain stable, total interest payments could skyrocket to $1.5 trillion by year-end. Even in a scenario where the Fed cuts rates by 100 bps (from 4.5% to 3.5%), interest costs are still projected to reach ~$1.3 trillion by the end of 2025. source : BofA

What happened to the 30 day moratorium on tariffs from Canada & Mexico? Source: Vic_Turbendian