Opening Comments
Given the Spring Break holidays and lower recent open rates (70% to 63%), I am going to try to take a little time away from the Rosen Report, absent some big developments. I have really been enjoying the reader engagement, feedback, emails, ideas and support. As you can imagine, a great deal goes into these pieces, and I do it alone. I am averaging over 8.5 hours a day on my phone looking up news stories and reading about the world. I could use a reprieve. If you are travelling, be safe and enjoy time with family and friends. We have lost so much time together given the pandemic, and we should all appreciate some return to normalcy while it lasts. I will be writing about some upcoming adventures after the break. See Virus section as Europe is seeing cases spike again along with China.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time forever. I have written about this in the past and am 100% supportive. The House needs to pass it as well, and it seems as thought it will happen. It will go into effect the fall of 2023 as mass transit schedules have already been set. Finally, politicians agreed on something and did a good thing. Let’s not expect much more from them, as they rarely get it right.
Picture of the Day-Jim Reid -DB on Rate Hikes
Learn From My Investing Mistakes
Quick Bites
US Markets, Oil/Gas, Global Market Charts
Inflation, Zelensky Speech To Congress
Saudi Considering Yuan for Oil
Loving What You Do, Cuomo Brothers
Serial Killer Caught
Other Headlines
Virus/Vaccine
Data-Improvements Continue
Germany at Peak Cases
Hong Kong Death Toll Rising Quickly
Real Estate
My General Comments (Hobe Sound Clarification)
Lee Westwood’s Old Palm House Sold
Rent Price Growth is Remarkable
2023 Home Price Growth ($1mm for 196 ft)
Pictures of the Day-Jim Reid -DB on Rate Hikes
I use these research pieces from Jim Reid from time to time and I liked these pictures.
With US equities still at some of their highest valuations in history, with global housing having boomed during the pandemic, and with global debt at record highs, the Fed (and other central banks) shaking the tree is sure to bring something we can add to the events shown in the graph. The one caveat is that monetary policy usually acts with a lag. So, the problems associated with today’s hiking cycle start won’t be immediate. To paraphrase Warren Buffet, the tide will have to go back a fair bit from here to see who has been swimming naked. With inflation as high as it is, the Fed really have no choice but to take us back from high tide, but history suggests consequences.
Not every Fed hiking cycle leads to a recession, but all hiking cycles that invert the curve have led to recessions within 1 to 3 years. The problem with the Fed hiking cycle that starts today is that there is a decent likelihood that the curve inverts relatively early on. 2s10s peaked at +158bps last March and traded as low as +22bps last week before settling at around +30bps this morning and is now back down to 23bps. Piling on, CPI is much higher today than it was in any of those instances, and indeed the second highest at the start of any post-war hiking cycle. Thus there is not only a strong risk that the curve inverts relatively early, but that the Fed will need to continue hiking anyway.
Learn From My Investing Mistakes
I want people to learn from my investing mistakes. As a result, I am going to go over my two largest macro misses in the past 30 years. Hopefully, those who read the Rosen Report regularly realize that my goal is to entertain and help educate readers about what is going on in the world, especially around markets and economic issues. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had a successful career, but think about how in hindsight, by investing more aggressively, I would have significantly increased my net worth.
To understand why I made the mistakes, it is important to realize that I grew up with limited means and wanted a different life than the way I grew up. When I was a kid, I watched the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach and was memorized at the wealth that was possible. I never saw anything like that in my neighborhood. I did not know anyone who was rich. As I started earning money, my inclination was to save it and not spend it frivolously, so I got that part right. I was scared to lose my money and go back to the life I had as a kid, which made me invest more cautiously than many others.
Despite the fact that I was trading for a living, I was too conservatively invested given all the excess disposable income I had coming in at the time. When I worked at JPM, 50% of my compensation was in JPM stock, and it ended up being a significant portion of my net worth. I did not feel the need to buy a bunch more in equities given my already substantial market exposure. I was making millions of dollars as a single guy and spending less than 10% of my income on living expenses. I was effectively keeping my cash under my mattress.
Unfortunately, JPM stock was not an amazing performer during my 15 years there. I joined at $34 and left almost 15 years later at $38, hardly a home run relative to the competition at the time and what the stock has done more recently. I remember being given stock options when I joined and none of them were ever in the money by more than pennies. The yellow circle is my tenure at JPM. Kind of depressing at the run after I left with the stock up 400%. Maybe I was the one employee out of 400,000 that was holding back the stock? Blame me. My wife blames me for just about everything, so I won’t be mad if everyone points to me for the under performance during my tenure, despite having built and run successful businesses.
I used what I call a barbell strategy. I would have cash, venture investments and just a limited direct market exposure. Don’t get me wrong, I had some big winners on the venture/PE front of 5-30 time my money. Obviously, I had some goose eggs too. As I think about all the brain damage, I would have been far better off buying the S&P 500 each bonus season and forgetting about it. Also, all those K-1s due to my private investments drive me crazy come tax time. I get some in October and it is maddening.
I started earning real money in 1997, so I started the S&P chart below that year. When you look at the power of compounding, especially from 2009 on, it has been a very big miss to not be more heavily invested. If you invested $100k in 1997 and invested $5k/month every month you would have invested $1.6mm and had $7.0mm today. I had the opportunity to invest much more and did not due to my fear of going back to living how I grew up. I did it for the right reasons as opposed to spending frivolously, but the opportunity cost was high. Although many of my readers are successful, and in the area of my vintage, I have a growing number of college aged kids and young professionals reading. Let this be a lesson. This is the site I used, so you can play with it if you like to see what your returns would have been.
Had I just put away a majority of the money saved into the S&P 500 regularly rather than hoarding cash, my net worth would be multiples of what it is today.
The other miss is Real Estate. I had one teacher in undergrad who I really respected, and he was my real estate professor. He said, “I am in the oil business,” and said it with a southern accent to sound like he was from Texas. He actually owned Jiffy Lubes, but liked the way it sounded to be in the “oil business.” Importantly, he owned the land and the business. He had 40 of them around the Southeast around 1990. His recommendation was to try to buy one income producing property per year starting at age 27. It could be small and he wanted you to rent it out and build up a portfolio to live off of before you were 50. He walked through getting a mortgage, refinancing your equity out and the math around it. Again, although I made money in real estate, I never built up a diverse income producing portfolio as the wise professor suggested.
If I could go back and punch myself in the face to get across one point it would have been to be more aggressively invested for the long term in liquid equity indices and real estate (apartments and rental homes). Kids, learn from my mistakes and build a substantial net worth by being a long-term, patient investor who invest in stock indices and income producing property starting young. I also might suggest buying stocks of companies you use and appreciate. We all love Amazon, Apple, Netlfix, Google, Tesla, WalMart, Nike, Intel, Oracle, Disney, P&G, Berkshire. Facebook, Microsoft… Had you put even 10% of your net worth in those over the past 20 years, the returns would have been HUGE.
If you don’t believe me, I’ll share a Buffett quote. “Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value.” This link has 20 good Buffett investing quotes. I wish I would have listened to Uncle Warren. of note, Berkshire closed about $500k TODAY for the 1st time after being around $250k in early 2020. Learn from my mistakes.
Quick Bites
The Dow rose 519 points, or 1.5%, to 34,063 after turning red initially following the release of the Fed’s statement. It swung within a 576-point range on the session. The S&P 500 added 2.2% to 4,358, and the Nasdaq gained 3.7% to 13,437. The Fed announced at the conclusion of its two-day meeting Wednesday that it will increase short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, a well-telegraphed move by the central bank as it seeks to control surging inflation. But it was the central bank’s outlook that surprised traders somewhat and knocked the market down initially. The Fed forecast a consensus funds rate of 1.9% by year’s end, which would mean a hike at each of the remaining central bank meetings this year. After the initial decline, stocks recovered in the final hour of trading as some investors cheered the Fed’s aggressive posture on the belief it would help the economy over the long term by lowering inflation. Interestingly, Oil continues its decline and is down to $95/barrel after being above $130 in the past 10 days. Ed Hyman from Evercore ISI is a very well respected economist and there is a chart from the recent report which is potentially bullish on why oil prices are down and the ramifications (2nd chart). The conclusion is if oil stays down here, inflation may have peaked. The 10-year Treasury is up to 2.19% and the 2s/10s is 23bps as of the close today. Crypto is rallying again with the broader markets and BTC is $41k (+4%) and ETH is $2.8k (+5%).
In order of importance, here are 7 reasons oil has plunged (Hyman):
War de-escalation possibility
China Covid outbreak concerns
Prices had overshot
Recession concerns
Nickel trading disaster
Plunge in London Natural Gas
Demand destruction concerns
Looks like we will get a near term reprieve at the pump after seeing US gas prices hit an all-time high of $4.33/gallon on 3/11/22. The average price is now $4.30 and expect it to fall further with the huge recent oil sell-off. U.S. and global benchmark crude oil officially entered a bear market on Tuesday, just five trading days after they settled at their highest prices since 2008. “The collapse has been spectacular,” Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at ThinkMarkets, in a market update. On Tuesday, the front-month April West Texas Intermediate crude futures contract, fell $6.6, or 6.4%, to settle at $96.4 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and fell another 1.5% Wednesday. That’s down 24% from the March 8 settlement of $123.70, which was the highest finish since Aug. 1, 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Remember, oil traded above $130 ten days ago. John Arnold is a smart energy hedge fund investor (former Enron) who is a billionaire and knows the oil market well. Here is a Twitter thread from him about the time it takes from decision to start of production. Take a look.
Of note, this article was Monday and markets rallied since including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +9% today, but this bullet shows how far things had fallen recently. Also, we have seen a healthy two day rally in the US since Monday. As risks pile up for global equity markets -- from soaring inflation and central bank policy tightening to the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -- the list of indexes that have fallen into bear market territory is growing. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index was the latest major gauge to enter a bear market on Monday. It joins a host of other major stock indexes around the world, from China’s CSI 300 to Germany’s DAX, that have dropped 20% or more from recent highs at some point this year. In total, the equity selloff has erased almost $12 trillion in value from global stocks -- measured using the MSCI All-Country World Index -- in 2022. There are four charts attached which is rare for me to post in one bullet point, but I believe they are each informative about the state of the equity markets.
I am including a few different stories from varying sources on inflation, and all are suggesting higher near term prices. US inflation will likely hit double digits this summer as the ripple effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine lead to further financial pain for American households, according to famed economist Mohamed El-Erian. Nonwhite voters have been most impacted by inflation and their growing frustration poses a threat to Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterms, according to the findings of a recent poll. The poll, published Monday by The Wall Street Journal, showed that around 35% of nonwhite voters – including Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American – reported inflation causing higher strain on their finances compared with less than a third of White voters. Escalating sanctions by the West to punish Russia for its war against Ukraine are driving fears that an episode of increased inflation, already at its highest levels in 40 years, will become harder to wring out of the U.S. economy without a recession. Now, the global economy faces the prospect of higher energy and commodity prices, which will raise the costs to transport and manufacture a range of goods, while the conflict further disrupts global shipping networks. The producer price index for final demand increased 10% from February of last year and 0.8% from the prior month, Labor Department data showed Tuesday. That followed an upwardly revised 1.2% monthly gain in January.
Saudi Arabia is in active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would dent the U.S. dollar’s dominance of the global petroleum market and mark another shift by the world’s top crude exporter toward Asia. The talks with China over yuan-priced oil contracts have been off and on for six years but have accelerated this year as the Saudis have grown increasingly unhappy with decades-old U.S. security commitments to defend the kingdom, the people said. Saudi Arabia is in active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would dent the U.S. dollar’s dominance of the global petroleum market and mark another shift by the world’s top crude exporter toward Asia. The talks with China over yuan-priced oil contracts have been off and on for six years but have accelerated this year as the Saudis have grown increasingly unhappy with decades-old U.S. security commitments to defend the kingdom, the people said. To me, this would be a big development in the oil market and a slap in the face to the US.
Zelensky made an impassioned speech to Congress today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terror attacks Wednesday in an impassioned video plea to Congress to send more help for Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Lawmakers stood and cheered, and President Joe Biden later announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones. Biden also declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal — his strongest condemnation yet — the day after the Senate unanimously asked for an international investigation of Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. In a moment of high drama at the Capitol, Zelenskyy livestreamed his speech to a rapt audience of lawmakers on a giant screen, acknowledging from the start that the no-fly zone he has repeatedly sought to “close the sky” to airstrikes on his country may not happen. Biden has resisted that, as well as approval for the U.S. or NATO to send MiG fighter jets from Poland as risking wider war with nuclear-armed Putin. They also showed a disturbing video of the war with kids dying. Quite dramatic.
I have written previously about the importance of enjoying what you do. I have had jobs which made me miserable and ones which I loved. I know it is easier said than done, but being passionate about what you do goes a long way to be happy. I had big jobs where I was paid handsomely, yet I was miserable due to a host of factors (boss, colleagues, firm, lack of infrastructure, responsibilities…). When I was in the seat where I loved my job and the people, I looked forward to going to work and it made me better at my job. Griff Aldrich spent roughly two decades building a successful career in law and private equity. Then, he blew it all up for a chance to coach college basketball. Now, Aldrich is gearing up for March Madness, as the 47-year-old coach leads the Longwood University Lancers to the NCAA’s “Big Dance” for the school’s first time ever. In 2016, Aldrich was in the midst of a lucrative career. After being a partner at one of the world’s top law firms, he’d become the chief financial officer of a private equity firm, with a salary of $800,000 per year. He now makes $150,000 after making $32,000 when he left his professional role.
An audit released on Tuesday by the New York State government concluded that the administration of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to accurately account for the number of New Yorkers who died from the coronavirus in nursing homes. According to an audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Cuomo’s Health Department failed to account for 4,100 nursing home deaths and undercounted the coronavirus death toll in nursing homes by as much as 50% from April 2020 to February 2021. The audit states that the health department fell "well short" of its "moral" and "ethical" obligation to accurately report the deaths. Cuomo had directed nursing homes to accept patients who tested positive for or were suspected of having COVID-19 early in his pandemic response, a move that became controversial after thousands of elderly patients became infected with the virus. We all knew this already, but the investigation made it official. I know Cuomo is trying to make a comeback, but given his leadership decisions resulted in thousands of deaths, he covered it up and has been accused of sexual harassment and more, I hope his political career is over. With respect to his brother, Andrew, he is suing CNN for $125mm around what he deems to be wrongful termination. If he gets 10 figures for this, I may stop writing the Rosen Report and think about suing people for a living.
A suspect in the serial killing and shooting of homeless people in the Big Apple and Washington, DC, was arrested early Tuesday in the capital, police announced. The suspect has been tied to two murders and three attempted homicides targeting homeless men in both cities. I read he was a homeless man.
Other Headlines
Tesla hikes car prices in the U.S., China after CEO Elon Musk warns of inflation pressure
California Bill Aims to Make Tech Firms Liable for Social-Media Addiction in Children
I love this one. Generally, the bills out of CA are pretty awful, but finally something good and holding firms accountable. They should think about doing that with criminals.
California's Climate Fight May Send Its Power Demand Soaring 90%
Biden nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin withdraws her candidacy for Federal Reserve board
She lacked support, and once Manchin was not voting for her, it was clear she would face an uphill battle.
Over 60% Of Americans Back Florida’s Limits On K-3 Lessons On Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity
The link goes into detail as to the phrasing of the question as designed in the bill. Personally, I do not feel K-3 should learn about gender identity in school.
NYC woman accused of holding online ‘date’ hostage for $100K in twisted kidnapping, torture scheme
Very scary story of a man who was almost murdered thinking he was hanging out with an Instagram date.
Broadway vocal coach dies after being pushed into the ground, family says
She was 87 years old and hit her head. Under the crazy Rudy, and Bloomberg, I felt the city was safe. I went out late at night, rode the subway at 3am, jogged in Central Park at night… Never once did I feel unsafe then. Things have changed. My head is on a swivel now when I walk the streets in NYC.
Hate-Hoaxing Atlanta Rioters Who Tried to Frame Trump Supporters Convicted
He better not be allowed to walk the streets after this attack.
SPEAKING OF OUT-OF-CONTROL CRIME
AMZN is closing a Seattle office of 1,800 due to crime. An employee was attacked with a bat. The cities soft on crime get what they deserve. The police budget was cut $36mm. Other business closing as well including a McD and others. Let this be a wake up call to cities who are soft on crime. I hope other large corporations pull out of SFO, LA, Seattle, Chicago, NYC… to send a message to leadership and DA’s that crime is killing these cities.
The most-fit are 33 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, report says
'Great Resignation': Over 70% of workers regret quitting their jobs
Russia/Ukraine-It is very hard to get accurate accounts of what is truly going on over there. The death toll numbers are all over the place. One account has 13k Russian soldiers killed in a few weeks’ time. That number seems incredibly high to me, but it just shows how challenging it is to get the facts. There have been countless stories of civilians killed with today’s headline “US says Russian troops “killed 10 people standing in line for bread.” Today’s major news was Russians bomb Mariupos theater where hundreds of civilians had taken refuge.” The estimates of people inside ranged from 300 to 1,200 (picture below). I do believe many atrocities have taken place in Ukraine. I just don’t trust all the headlines.
Top Putin ally says Ukraine war has been slower than expected
Putin’s spin doc demands reparations from US over sanctions, wants Alaska back
This one is funny. They want Alaska back!
Putin has brought threat of nuclear conflict ‘back within the realm of possibility,’ U.N. chief says
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will knock 30 years of progress off the Russian economy
Interesting article. It is clear Putin does not care about his citizens. At what point is there a revolt?
Russian TV journalist who protested Ukraine war on-air turns up in court
Virus/Vaccine
All trends going the right direction as seen below. However, the next bullet shows large case increases in Germany and the UK and China has seen large growth as well.
Germany has seen a reassurance of cases recently as seen in the chart below. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the impact of COVID-19 in the country had reached a "critical" level after the number of infections rose to a record high this week. "We are in a situation that I would like to describe as critical,'' Lauterbach said at the weekly coronavirus press briefing in Berlin on Friday. "We have strongly rising case figures again. [...] I keep reading that the omicron variant is a milder variant but that's only true to a limited extent." Also of note, UK cases almost tripled in the past month and are back up to 103k/day for the 7-day average. For perspective, the US cases are 30% of the UK despite having 5 times the population.
The death rate in Hong Kong has spiked sharply recently. Only about 35 percent of residents 80 and older have received two vaccine doses, compared with more than 80 percent of those 12 and above. Look at the chart for Hong Kong deaths from the pandemic. Almost none until one month ago.
Real Estate
I want to clarify something from my last report. I am not suggesting Hobe Sound will be under pressure. My comment was that over the next 2-4 years, that is where all the new high-end building will be. It will be the only place down here with significant new housing inventory. If we see a correction, it could be there, not because I don’t believe in Hobe Sound, but because that is where the inventory will be coming on line. I happen to think that area is likely to explode in a good way. Everything else is just untouchable from a price perspective. 10 new golf courses going in and a Discovery property. Lots of wealth and high end homes and fantastic golf. I expect it to be more built up in a hurry. It will need infrastructure as the area has far less going on than Palm Beach. An Australian hedge fund managers, dubbed the “Wizard of OZ,” bought a Southampton estate for $105mm. The original ask was $175mm. The link has some great pictures.
The former mansion of pro golfer Lee Westwood sold for $12.2 million.
Property records show George and Sarah McMahon sold the property at 12235 Tillinghast Circle in Palm Beach Gardens to Joseph and Nicole McGraw. George McMahon is CEO and Sarah is chief financial officer of American Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure investment firm. George also sold his bucket truck dealership, Utility Fleet, in 2015 to Blackstone. The McMahons purchased the property in 2017 from Lee and Laurae Westwood for $6.4 million. Westwood’s former Palm Beach Gardens home, an 11,269-square-foot estate, was built in 2013 and sits on an acre. This is in the community of Old Palm which is between I-95 and the Turnpike on PGA Boulevard. It is almost 6 miles west of the ocean for perspective. Old Palm is nice gated community with 313 homes and a solid golf course and practice facilities. They are remodeling the clubhouse and have no tennis. Although I find this price outrageous for a 10 -year-old house (approximately 1,000/ft), it is a hell of a lot cheaper than NYC and comes with nice amenities.
There was a house for sale in Old Palm for years which finally sold for $6.2mm on 10/15/18 after being listed for over $15mm. It sat for 5 years before being sold. It was then sold to Tiger Woods ex-wife for $9.9mm. on 9/14/20. My point is inventory did not move like it does post pandemic. Houses would sit for years. It sold for 40% of original ask prior to the pandemic.
Demand for single-family rental homes is soaring, pushing prices to record highs, as Americans continue to want larger homes with outdoor spaces.
Single-family rents gained a record 12.6% year over year in January, according to a new report from CoreLogic. That compares to an increase of 3.9% in January 2021. Every major market saw increases, but cities in the Sun Belt saw truly stunning numbers. For example, single-family rents soared 38.6% in Miami, up from just 2% the previous January. Orlando, Fla., and Phoenix were next in line, with gains of 19.9% and 18.9%, respectively, as Americans continued their migration to warmer parts of the nation. The Washington, D.C., area saw the lowest annual growth in rent prices — but they were still up 5.6%. “Single-family-rent growth extended its record-breaking price growth streak to 10 consecutive months in January,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic.
Lower-priced (75% or less than the regional median): up 12%, compared with 3% in January 2021
Lower-middle priced (75% to 100% of the regional median): up 13.3%, from 3.2% in January 2021
Higher-middle priced (100% to 125% of the regional median): up 13.4%, from 3.6% in January 2021
Higher-priced (125% or more than the regional median): up 12.2%, from 4.5% in January 2021
This article gives different view about continued home price growth. No, I am not looking for a crash, but believe the crazy price appreciation will slow as the impact of higher rates and less disposable income due to price increases everywhere. The costs of building are going through the roof and affordability is taking a big hit. I speak with builders, and between labor and materials, appliances, cabinets, furnishings, the costs of building have gone through the roof. A case in point is a 196 square foot home in Santa Rosa listed for $1mm.
In 2021, home prices skyrocketed nearly 19%, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index. And pros say we’re in for another year of price growth — but as for how much, pros diverge. Some predict double digit growth. Indeed, a report in January from Zillow noted that home values were expected to grow 16.4% between December 2021 and December 2022; Goldman Sachs, in October, forecast that home prices would rise 16% through 2022. Fannie Mae says home prices will climb 11.2% throughout this year, followed by a more modest increase in 2023. Others have more modest predictions: The National Association of Realtors, which surveyed more than 20 top economic and housing experts, predicts housing prices are expected to climb 5.7% through the end of 2022; and Realtor.com predicts a 2.9% increase in 2022. “I believe home price appreciation will normalize in 2022 and home price growth will begin to more closely track inflation,” says Bill Dallas, president of Finance of America Mortgage. As of February 2022, Redfin predicted home-price growth to slow at an annual rate of 7% by the end of 2022. This CNBC article from 3/16/22 is entitled, “Homebuilders’ sales expectations drop dramatically, as mortgage rates soar.”
[Warren Buffett Quotes](https://marketrook.com/warren-buffett-quotes/)
If you aren't willing to own a stock for 10 years, don't even think about owning it for 10 minutes.