{"id":55476,"date":"2023-08-31T20:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T00:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/157-signs-the-us-economy-is-soaring\/"},"modified":"2023-08-31T20:23:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T00:23:51","slug":"157-signs-the-us-economy-is-soaring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=55476","title":{"rendered":"157 Signs The US Economy Is Soaring"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

If you haven\u2019t noticed, I\u2019m a bit of a data nerd. I could go on and on<\/em> about all the economic numbers I watch for you every month, but these weekly articles just don\u2019t give me the room. So I have to be selective.<\/p>\n

There are hundreds (I\u2019m not exaggerating; I\u2019m up to 157 so far) of data points that prove the US economy is doing better than most people think, and that 2022\u2019s doom-and-gloom was way<\/em> overdone (and in many cases plain wrong).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, my editor would never let me cover all of them, especially in one article! And, let\u2019s be honest, most people wouldn\u2019t want to sit through 157 data points, either.<\/p>\n

So let me quickly throw three at you, because they go straight to the reasons behind our bullishness on equity and bond-focused closed-end funds (CEFs) at CEF Insider<\/em> today.<\/p>\n

Then we\u2019re going to talk CEFs\u2014including an 8.7% payer holding shares of America\u2019s strongest companies\u2014because these high yielders are our favorite way to tap America\u2019s economic strength.<\/p>\n

Bullish Data Point No. 1: The US Has Cut Loose a Sinking China<\/h2>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

Most people wouldn\u2019t see news about a collapse in China as good for any economy. After all, in a globalized world, what\u2019s bad for America\u2019s trading partners is generally bad for America. Except America isn\u2019t really a major trading partner to China anymore.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 resulted in a long (and well-documented) scramble from virtually every company in America to buttress, diversify and reinforce supply chains to make them less reliant on one region or country. The US, for example, ran out of personal-protective equipment in 2020, when some other countries had a surplus\u2014companies won\u2019t let that happen again.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, exports from Mexico to the US have surged to $42.6 billion per month, up nearly 70% from before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s export decline tells us that worries about the country\u2019s economic woes hurting the US haven\u2019t come true. And they\u2019re not likely to, with Mexico displacing Chinese exports to the US\u2014a trend that\u2019s likely to continue (not to mention the trend of companies simply moving their operations back to the US).<\/p>\n

That shift, and the added stability it brings, is great news for US stocks.<\/p>\n

Bullish Data Point No. 2: Flow
\n FLOW
\n <\/fbs-ticker> of Cash Into Bonds Is a Good Sign for Growth<\/h2>\n

Today\u2019s high interest rates make it hard for companies to borrow money to expand. That\u2019s the conventional wisdom, and it\u2019s not wrong. But it\u2019s only half the picture.<\/p>\n

To be sure, a lack of access to credit can<\/em> cause a recession. But not only are companies doing fine, they\u2019re still borrowing at high levels and earning a profit on those borrowings in the vast majority of cases.<\/p>\n

But let me offer some reassuring data: BlackRock
\n BLK
\n <\/fbs-ticker>, the world\u2019s largest investment manager, saw $68 billion flow into its iShares bond ETFs in the first half of 2023, and BlackRock president Rob Kapito says he expects more of the $7 trillion parked in money-market funds to flow to bonds, too.<\/p>\n

This means that as more investor money flows into bonds, yields will fall\u2014it\u2019s simple supply and demand. That, in turn, will lower the cost of borrowing for bond issuers. This will happen organically\u2014not due to any action from the Fed. So as long as money keeps flowing into bonds, companies will have more access to capital to expand, another plus for US bonds (and stocks).<\/p>\n

Bullish Data Point No. 3: US Wages Are Outrunning Inflation<\/h2>\n

Consumer spending drives the US economy, and the knock-on effects of this spread across the globe.<\/p>\n

The purple line above represents average hourly earnings growth in America\u2014that headline number is strong. The orange line represents growth after <\/em>inflation, which is key to determining whether American consumers are doing better or worse. When it\u2019s above 0, they have more purchasing power.<\/p>\n

That number collapsed in 2022, which was a key reason why stocks tanked. But now that hourly earnings growth is beginning to eclipse cost-of-living growth, that trend is gone, and it\u2019s time to buy stocks while they\u2019re still oversold\u2014and they are, given that the S&P 500 is still well below its late-2021 peak.<\/p>\n

An 8.7%-Yielding CEF That\u2019s Perfect for This Unloved Bull Market<\/h2>\n

This is where CEFs come in, because we don\u2019t just want to buy the S&P 500 and be done with it. This is a weird time in markets\u2014we went from all of our financial models collapsing three years ago to seeing unpredictable moves for two years until, all of a sudden, the models started working again.<\/p>\n

If they start to collapse again, we could see a short-term selloff as people have flashbacks to last year. That would, of course, be a long-term buying opportunity.<\/p>\n

So we need exposure to undervalued stocks and the liquidity that comes from big dividends, and CEFs are a great way to get both\u2014especially CEFs like the Eaton Vance Risk-Managed Diversified Equity Income Fund (ETJ).<\/strong> Its portfolio has no surprises\u2014Microsoft
\n
\n MSFT
\n <\/fbs-ticker> (MSFT), Apple
\n
\n AAPL
\n <\/fbs-ticker> (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN) <\/strong>and Mastercard
\n
\n MA
\n <\/fbs-ticker> (MA) <\/strong>are all top holdings.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the best part: through ETJ, we can get all these stocks at a discount to their market prices.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is weird; ETJ typically sells for more<\/em> than its portfolio\u2019s intrinsic value, and in fact its discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of the stocks in its portfolio) has dropped in recent weeks, retreating to its early 2023 level.<\/p>\n

This might sound startling, but ETJ is up solidly this year, thanks to its strong stock portfolio.<\/p>\n

Plus, ETJ\u2019s 8.7% income stream provides the cash we need to add more to our positions regularly, thanks to its monthly payouts and high yield. Reinvesting our payouts compounds our returns and gives us even bigger profits if the market ignores the data and falls in the short term.<\/p>\n

And there are more data points that suggest that this would be a buying opportunity: used-car prices fell 4.2% year-over-year in June; job openings remain over double their 20-year average, consumer confidence has surged consistently for months \u2026 I could go on, but I can already hear my editor\u2019s voice in my head warning me to stop!<\/p>\n

Michael Foster is the Lead Research Analyst for <\/em>Contrarian Outlook<\/em>. For more great income ideas, click here for our latest report \u201c<\/em>Indestructible Income: 5 Bargain Funds with Steady 10.4% Dividends.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclosure: none<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t noticed, I\u2019m a bit of a data nerd. I could go on and on about all the economic numbers I watch for you every month, but these weekly articles just don\u2019t give me the room. So I have to be selective. There are hundreds (I\u2019m not exaggerating; I\u2019m up to 157 so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-55476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-markets","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n157 Signs The US Economy Is Soaring | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you haven\u2019t noticed, I\u2019m a bit of a data nerd. 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