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31, October
Know Member – October 2020 Commentary
Finance , Market Commentary

Know Member – October 2020 Commentary

“When we make the unfamiliar familiar, make the unknown known, make the uncomfortable comfortable…we can then expect the unexpected” – James K. Glassman 

The writer of the article in Friday, October 30th’s Wall Street Journal was clearly mystified. Even the headline for the article was mystifying. “Pandemic Brings New Restrictions on Restaurants and Retailers as Demand is Rising”. The article went onto include the following passages. “Surge in U.S. Coronavirus cases comes as more people are dining out and stores struggle to find workers ahead of holidays. Outback Steak House’s president says the chain hasn’t seen a drop in dining demand since Covid-19 case counts started climbing again this fall.”

Most commentaries on the outlook for the economy are as chilly as the looming Winter weather. Following are some quotes from someone who is generally considered to be an economic optimist. “Challenging times abound”, “stimulus tailwinds are fading, and economic growth appears likely to slow down until more stimulus is passed and/or a vaccine is widely distributed.” Most American’s believe in their ability to pursue what they believe to be reasonable precautions to safeguard their health and that of others but Americans want their lives back and it’s a pretty good wager that happens because, as the above quotes from the Wall Street Journal indicate, it is already happening.

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How badly was our economy damaged due to the public policy response to the pandemic? In the second quarter of this year the reported decline was 34.3% but that was a one-quarter figure annualized. Americans could be forgiven for being under the impression that our economy had shrunk by a full third in three months. For some clarity, it may be helpful to look at the size of the US economy over the prior three quarters for a more accurate measure of where we were and where we are. At the end of 2019 US GDP was at 21.73 trillion, at the end of 2020’s 1st quarter 21.54 trillion, 2nd quarter 19.41 trillion (a decline of 2.04 trillion or 9.5%) and at the end of the 3rd 21.16 trillion (an increase of 1.64 trillion or 8.4%). So that leaves us down $570 billion through the end of the 3rd quarter of this year or 2.6% so if the 4th quarter number is one-third of the 3rd quarters we’ll be back to where we started the year.

Friday’s Wall Street Journal also included the cheery headline “Market ends worst month since March”. How bad was it you ask? Well, the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 4.53% for the month and is down 5.38% for the year. The S&P 500 fell 2.66% but is still positive 2.77% for the year. Something curious though happened in October’s market. Mid-cap stocks were UP 2.17% and Small Cap stocks 2.58%. This looks more like a sector rotation than a flight to safety. US Treasury yields were up modestly but high yield bond yields declined. Europe was down 5.62% but Asia was up 4.81% perhaps providing evidence that it may not be the pandemic that is driving markets so much as market’s fear of how public authorities will choose to respond to it. Emerging markets were up 2.04% and Frontier Markets, which are the highest risk equity markets on Earth, were up 4.19%. For 60% equity/40% fixed income portfolios returns were a negative 1 ¾% leaving portfolio returns year to date positive though barely so.

Christmas is coming. The best is yet to come! And yes Virginia, and for you who live in other states, there will be a pandemic pause!

Mark H. Tekamp October 31, 2020

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