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6 charts from the past week that tell an interesting story in markets and investing…
1) The Jobs Recovery Continues
The US Unemployment Rate moved down to 5.2% in August, its lowest level since the start of the pandemic.
There are now 1.7 million more job openings than unemployed people in America. That’s a new record.
17 million jobs have been added back since the pandemic shutdowns last year, leaving total payrolls still 5.3 million below the prior high. It appears that the Delta wave may have had an impact on hiring in August, with the 235,000 increase in jobs falling well short of estimates (740,000).
Will the expiration of the additional federal unemployment benefits this week lead to a return to the workforce for millions of Americans? That’s a question that will likely be answered in next month’s report.
2) Shortages Everywhere You Look
The ISM Manufacturing and Services reports were released this week, with a consistent theme from respondents:
- Chip Shortages
- Staffing Shortages
- Port Delays
- Supply Chain Issues
- Price Increases
All signs are pointing to sustained inflation for the time being, with too much money still chasing too few goods.
The “too few goods” part is wreaking havoc on a number of sectors, with automakers the most prominent example. Despite huge demand, sales collapsed in August as there is simply no inventory to be had.
3) Housing Boom Continues
Evidence pointing to another housing bubble continues to grow with U.S. home prices up 18.6% over the last year, the highest rate of increase ever recorded.
The rising tide has lifted all boats, with every major metropolitan area in the U.S. seeing a double-digit % increase over the last year. With the exception Chicago, all are now at record highs.
4) Another $100 Billion Milestone for Apple
The largest company in the world got even even bigger this week, crossing above $2.5 trillion for the first time.
A year ago it became the first company to hit $2 trillion and three years ago the first to hit $1 trillion.
Here’s a look at the largest U.S. companies by market cap, net income, revenue, and employees…
5) Another Month, Another Meme
The Reddit trading audience continues to grow, approaching nearly 11 million in the popular WallStreetBets forum.
Their latest target: support.com ($SPRT), which spiked 291% higher in August.
The surge higher pushed its price to sales ratio up to over 19x, higher than Microsoft (14x), Facebook (10x), Netflix (9x), Google (9x), Apple (7x), and Amazon (4x).
Is the valuation premium due to higher growth? Not exactly. Support.com’s revenues have been moving lower, down 24% in the last year.
6) 3x Leverage + Greatest Uptrend in History
A 17,320% gain in 11.5 years.
That’s what happens when you combine 3 turns of leverage ($TQQQ ETF) with the greatest uptrend in history (the incredible move higher in the Nasdaq 100).
Why doesn’t everyone put 100% of their portfolio into leveraged ETFs like $TQQQ? Read our recent post here.
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And that’s it for this week. Thanks for reading.
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Charlie
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