The results of December’s Institute for Supply Management’s
manufacturing purchasing managers survey were released this morning.
Given the macro backdrop we’ve been discussing herein, the above-consensus headline number — and 14-year high for new orders — should be no big surprise.
While this is of course very good news, one thing we’re looking for in such releases is any whiff of inflation: Note the last line in paragraph 2:
I get how a couple of the Fed board members would like to see the whites of inflation’s eyes before moving rates higher; I personally think they should be paying close attention to the sound of those footsteps we’ve been hearing just outside the door.
Hence our bearishness on the more interest rate sensitive sectors/asset classes.