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  • More Young People Living With Their Parents

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    28% of 20- to 34-year-olds in the UK live with their parents, the highest share on record, see chart below.

    UK: A record-high share of young people live with their parents
    Source: ONS, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Housing Outlook for Europe

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Our latest housing outlook for Europe is available here, covering the euro area, Germany, Spain, France, and UK.

    Housing Outlook for Europe

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Economy Starting to Slow Down

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Attached here is our collection of daily and weekly indicators for the US economy, and the data shows some weakening in recent weeks with weaker retail sales, risks of higher jobless claims, and a rise in bankruptcies, see charts below. To be sure, the latest employment report was very strong, with 223,000 jobs created in December and the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%, but the daily and weekly high-frequency indicators are beginning to show some signs of weakness in the US economy.

    Source: Department of Labor, NFIB, Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist. Note: Filings are for companies with more than $50mn in liabilities. For week ending on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Interest Rates Not Going Back to Zero

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    We are going through an asset price recession and not an economic recession. Why? Because we should expect the Fed funds rate to decline from the peak at 5% in June toward the equilibrium interest rate which keeps the economy at full employment and inflation at 2%. The Fed estimates that this so-called r-star is around 2.5%, see also the Fed’s latest dot plot. The implication for investors is that the level of the risk-free rate is resetting higher than where it was before the pandemic, see chart below. And this permanent increase in the costs of capital has a wide range of consequences for corporate America and financial markets, including how to think about credit spreads and stock prices, in particular tech and growth.

    Chart showing a forecast of the Fed funds rate
    Source: Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Where Are the Missing Workers?

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Since the pandemic began, there has been a structural increase in the number of people who are sick, see the chart below, which shows a significant jump in the number of people with a job who are not at work due to illness. The permanent change in the number of people who are ill since the pandemic began is consistent with studies here, here, and here that find that Covid is a key reason workers are still missing in the workforce, and hence why the labor force participation rate remains subdued. Immigration growth is rising steadily, but the bottom line is that it will take time before wage inflation is back at pre-pandemic levels, and, as a result, the Fed will keep rates higher for longer.

    Source: BLS, Haver Analytics, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Markets Are Prepared for YCC Ending

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The BoJ is carefully preparing markets for the end of YCC, and that is likely the reason why the impact on US rates is so muted, see the first chart. But gradually higher yields in Japan will likely continue to push the yen higher, see the second chart.

    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • China is reopening, and this will be positive for global growth, see chart below. But because of the virus, commodity prices are not quite yet moving higher, and the impact on US inflation is likely to be modest and drawn out over time.

    Chart showing increase passenger volume in Chinese public transportation
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Inflation Coming Down

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The 3-month and 6-month annualized change in inflation show some significant downside momentum in inflation in recent months, see chart below. Our daily and weekly economic indicators for the US economy are available here.

    Chart showing inflation falling
    Source: BLS, Haver Analytics, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • 19mn People Suffer From Long Covid in the US

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    This new academic paper finds that about 7% of US adults, or around 19 million people, still suffer from long covid. And of those with long covid, 25%, or about 5 million people, report that their day-to-day activities are impacted ‘a lot’.

    The bottom line is that long covid is why the labor force participation rate has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, even in a situation with solid wage growth, see chart below. In other words, people are staying outside the labor market for health reasons and are unlikely to come back in the near term.

    These “missing” workers are why companies continue to report labor shortages and why wage inflation remains so high. This continues to be a challenge for the Fed as the FOMC tries to get inflation quickly back to the Fed’s 2% inflation target. Immigration is starting to increase, but ultimately long covid is a key reason why the Fed will have to keep the Fed funds rate elevated for an extended period.

    Long covid weighing on the participation rate
    Source: BLS, Haver, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


  • Housing Outlook

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Our latest housing outlook is available here, key charts inserted below.

    US Housing Outlook
    House prices coming for existing homes
    Source: Census, Apollo Chief Economist
    Inventory of existing homes for sale is rising but from a very low level
    Source: NAR, Apollo Chief Economist
    Significant drop in existing home sales
    Source: Census Bureau, NAR, Haver, Apollo Chief Economist; Forecast is Bloomberg consensus
    US house price model
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Confidence declining for homebuyers and homebuilders
    Source: University of Michigan, NAHB, Haver Analytics, Apollo Chief Economist
    Homebuilder confidence could rebound over the coming months because of lower mortgage rates
    Source: NAHB, Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Plans to buy a home rebounding for new homes
    Source: Conference Board, Apollo Chief Economist
    Housing affordability now below 2007 levels
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Average number of offers received per sold property
    Source: NAR, Apollo Chief Economist

    See important disclaimers at the bottom of the page.


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