Retail Spending Optimism

US Retail Spending Set to Boom? By Blu Putnam, Chief Economist Erik Norland, Senior Economist CME Group Restaurants, Air Travel Could Get a Boost ​​​​Pandemic caused shift in consumer spending  from services to goods. Consumer spending could pick up amid vaccines, stimulus checks. Restaurants could have a banner year, air travel is already rising. US growth … Read More

Gold at Crossroads and the Crude Oil-Soybean Oil Nexus

Gold at Crossroads and the Nexus Between Crude Oil and Vegetable Oils By Blu Putnam, Chief Economist & Erik Norland, Senior Economist, CME Group Investors Conflicted Over Gold’s Direction Data indicates two opposing investor sentiments in gold. Potential for inflation to head higher could be supportive. Rising inflation expectations reflect economic optimism. Gold faces headwinds … Read More

Post-Pandemic Global Trade and Inflation Impact on Investors

Did Pandemic Reshape Supply Lines? Impact of Inflation on Investors By Blu Putnam, Chief Economist & Erik Norland, Senior Economist, CME Group High Costs May Hinder Changes to Supply Lines Pandemic exacerbated disruption of supply lines that began with US-China trade war. A shift in consumer spending during pandemic from goods to services benefited China. … Read More

Insight: The Tussle Between Stocks and Bonds

Understanding Duration in Stocks. Will Bonds Drain Capital From Equities? By Blu Putnam, Chief Economist & Erik Norland, Senior Economist, CME Group Why Some Stocks Are More Sensitive to Bond Yields High-growth stocks can have long duration, pushing returns further out. Nasdaq is long in duration. Dow, which pays higher dividends, is short in duration. Higher … Read More

Ether-Bitcoin Dynamics and Supply-Side Impact on Gold-Silver

Ether-Bitcoin Dynamics and Supply-Side Impact on Gold-Silver Prices By Erik Norland, Senior Economist, CME Group Ether-Bitcoin: Moving in the Same Direction Bitcoin and ether have become more positively correlated. Both fell in 2018, drifted in 2019/2020 before rallying in 2020/2021. Bitcoin supply limited to 21 million coins, ether supply is unlimited. The ratio of ether’s … Read More