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About Jeffrey P. Snider

Give us a call at 1-888-777-0970 or via email at info@alhambrapartners.com to discuss how his unique approach informs our investment decisions. We'd be happy to discuss our investment strategies and provide a complimentary portfolio review.

The Eurodollar’s Soul; Part 1

By |2017-05-02T17:16:26-04:00May 2nd, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

You could say that SunTrust dodged a bullet. The Georgia bank was itself an amalgam of smaller banks cobbled together during the deregulation of the 1980’s. On the one side were the Florida subsidiaries based in Orlando, what came to be known as the Sun Bank. On the other was the Trust Company of Georgia, both coming together in 1985 [...]

Blatant Similarities

By |2017-05-01T18:36:47-04:00May 1st, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Declines in several of the world’s PMI’s in April have furthered doubts about the global “reflation.” But while many disappointed, some sharply, it isn’t just this one month that has sown them. In China, for example, both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sentiment indices declined to 6-month lows. While that might be erased next month as normal short run volatility, the [...]

The Actual Underside of ‘Solid’

By |2017-05-01T17:11:21-04:00May 1st, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

One of the driving forces of populism is this very keen sense of dissonance. We are told one thing only to observe another, with the basis for that first thing being little more than the credentials of the person making the claim. If Janet Yellen proclaims consumer spending as “solid”, we are supposed to take her at her word without [...]

The Irony of Stable Inflation

By |2017-05-01T12:02:08-04:00May 1st, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

In February 2000, the FOMC quietly switched from the CPI to the PCE Deflator as its standard for inflation measurement. There were various technical reasons for doing so, including the CPI’s employment of a geometric mean basis (which was in 2015 finally altered to a Constant Elasticity of Substitution formula). But it was one phrase that in hindsight did the [...]

Case Study In Depression And Denial

By |2017-04-28T17:49:13-04:00April 28th, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Back on March 10, the New York Fed’s attempt at real-time GDP forecasting predicted that the Q1 2017 estimate would be 3.2%. That would have qualified as another decent quarter, the second out of the past three and somewhat in keeping with “reflation.” As we know today, the advance figure calculated by the Commerce Department amounted to just 0.69% growth [...]

The Weight of Economic Risks

By |2017-04-28T16:14:11-04:00April 28th, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

The internals of the GDP report were as ugly as the headline. The major source of weakness was what was supposed to be the sole source of strength – consumers. Real Final Sales to Domestic Purchasers, a measure of all goods and services Americans bought regardless of where they originated, increased by just 1.51% (quarter-over-quarter annual rate) in Q1. That [...]

This Is Not Expansion

By |2017-04-28T12:58:43-04:00April 28th, 2017|Markets|

Back in October, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released GDP figures that suggested what those behind “reflation” had hoped. After a near miss to start 2016, the economy had shaken off the effects of “transitory” weakness, mainly manufacturing and oil, poised to perform in a manner consistent with monetary policy rhetoric. The Federal Reserve had been since 2014 itching to [...]

Tomorrow’s GDP Report Will Confirm The ‘Jobs Saved’ Economy Remains

By |2017-04-27T19:28:17-04:00April 27th, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

The advance estimate for GDP is scheduled for release tomorrow, and by current estimates it should be a total washout. Yet another first quarter is expected to be a disaster, the fourth in a row and the third straight under the “residual seasonality” regime that was supposed to reveal the hidden economic strength obscured by recent winters. Unlike 2014, however, [...]

Durable Goods Grow Indicating Lack of Growth

By |2017-04-27T17:23:17-04:00April 27th, 2017|Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets|

Total new orders for durable goods, including orders for new transportation equipment, were estimated to have been $238.7 billion in March 2017 on a seasonally-adjusted basis. That is 9% better than the most recent low point figured for June last year. It remains substantially less than the record high reached in July 2014, though an anomaly in Boeing’s order history [...]

Clickbait: Bernanke Terrifies Stock Investors, Again

By |2017-04-26T18:29:54-04:00April 26th, 2017|Bonds, Currencies, Economy, Federal Reserve/Monetary Policy, Markets, Stocks|

If you are a stock investor, you should be terrified. The most disconcerting words have been uttered by the one person capable of changing the whole dynamic. After spending so many years trying to recreate the magic of the “maestro”, Ben Bernanke in retirement is still at it. In an interview with Charles Schwab, the former Fed Chairman says not [...]

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