Monday’s very strong reading in the ISM manufacturing data has many market pundits beating their chests over the v-shaped recovery in the U.S. economy. Many of these pundits (most of whom completely missed the collapse) remain delusional. By almost any metric of the real economy this is anything but a v-shaped recovery. Not only is the stock market still 28% below its all-time high (no v there), but the data from the real economy still shows that the majority of Americans confront a very tough environment. The following four charts from the St. Louis Fed succinctly tell the story:
Industrial Production – No V here:
Real income – No V here:
Employment – No V here:
Real retail sales – No V here:
So, is this a v-shaped recovery? Only if you’re a banker:
Source: DB, St. Louis Fed
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.
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