Some Relief on Fed’s Favorite Inflation Measure; Powell Says The Clock is Ticking on Preventing Sustained High Inflation Array ( [cookie] => 596a25-805399-724db3-06fc84-1cfaa6 [current_usage] => 2 [max_usage] => 2 [current_usage_crypto] => 2 [max_usage_crypto] => 2 [lock] => 1 [message] => [error] => [active_member] => 0 [subscriber] => 0 [role] => [visitor_id] => 208285 [user_id] => [reason] => [method] => ) 1 and can accesss
The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge came in this week. The PCE rose 0.2% in May but fell 0.5% when inflation was considered. Personal incomes were a similar story as well. They rose .5% but after being adjusted for inflation the number was down 0.1% while prices continued rising in May at a clip of 0.6%. This was cut in half when food and fuel prices were excluded. Encouragingly, the indicator without food and fuel included declined for the third consecutive month. There has been a deceleration in the prices of many key goods and services, but elevated energy prices are continuing to squeeze the consumer. Energy prices can have a particularly vicious inflationary impact since they also affect transportation costs.
The inflationary pressures along with a decelerating economy appear to be squeezing net profit margins. Estimates for margins in the Consumer Discretionary sector have come down from 6.7% to 6.4%. Other assets have taken a pummeling this quarter. While stocks had their worst first half since 1970, investment grade bonds had their worst start to the year ever. The TINA justification for stocks is also diminishing. Micron ($MU) made an announcement that their EPS expectations for the approaching quarter had gone from around 10% above consensus to 37% below consensus. The S&P 500 earnings yield is only at 5.3% right now, which is at the narrowest spread with the US investment grade bond yield in twelve years. Investment grade bonds are at about 4.7%. There has also been weakness in high-yield bonds which are at 8.6%, their highest level since 2016. One encouraging development was that long-term inflation expectations came down. However, one should also consider that in the last comparable period of inflation (The Great Inflation) short-term inflation expectations carried more importance than they do in normal times. As Karen Dynan, a Harvard Economic Professor said, “If you look back to the 1970s and ‘80s when inflation was high and exciting and noticeable,” short-run expectations actually mattered more.


Become a Member To Access FS Insight Research
FS Insight gives individual investors access to Tom Lee's research, previously only available to banks and hedge funds.
|
|||
Join Now |
|
|||
Join Now |
What's included in your FSI Membership?

Thomas J. Lee
Head of Research
Type | Publication | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Monthly | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reports |
First Word The best market research out there -- on a near-daily basis. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Intraday Alerts These are released periodically after crucial market developments. |
Real-Time | |||||||
Weekly Roadmap Weekly summary of market events and updates on our key theses. |
![]() |
|||||||
Webinars & Videos |
Macro Minute Video Daily video commentary on market conditions & key events. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Outlook Webinars We host over 12 LIVE webinars per year with our research team and high-profile special guests. Incredible value and market insights! |
Yearly | |||||||
Granny Shots Webinars |
![]() |
|||||||
CEO Interview Webinars | Quarterly | |||||||
Appearances Archive | Real-Time | |||||||
Allocation Tools |
"Super Granny" Shots Stock List Granny Shots we expect to tactically outperform and underperform. |
![]() |
||||||
Granny Shots Stock List Thematic investment stock picks that aim to outperform the S&P 500. |
![]() |
|||||||
Sector Allocation A sector allocation strategy that is designed to outperform the S&P 500 while taking minimal risk. |
![]() |
|||||||
Market Alerts |
⚡️FlashInsights Real-time market commentary about macro and crypto events from our research heads. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Real-Time |

Mark L. Newton
Head of Technical Strategy
Type | Publication | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Monthly | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reports |
Daily Technical Strategy Daily commentary on market trends and short term opportunities. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
Weekly Roadmap Weekly summary of market events and updates on our key theses. |
![]() |
|||||||
Webinars & Videos |
Daily Technical Strategy Daily commentary on market trends and short term opportunities. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
Live Technical Analysis |
![]() |
|||||||
Outlook Webinars We host over 12 LIVE webinars per year with our research team and high-profile special guests. Incredible value and market insights! |
Yearly | |||||||
Appearances Archive | Real-Time | |||||||
Allocation Tools |
Newton's Upticks Stock List Technically derived, intermediate-term picks of attractive risk/reward opportunities from the S&P 500. |
![]() |
||||||
Market Alerts |
⚡️FlashInsights Real-time market commentary about macro and crypto events from our research heads. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |

L. Thomas Block
Washington Policy Strategy
Type | Publication | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Monthly | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reports |
US Policy Weekly update on developments in Washington DC and how they may impact Wall Street. |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||
Weekly Roadmap Weekly summary of market events and updates on our key theses. |
![]() |
|||||||
Market Alerts |
⚡️FlashInsights Real-time market commentary about macro and crypto events from our research heads. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Real-Time |


Sean Farrell & Crypto Team
Type | Publication | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Monthly | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reports |
Market Update Stay on top of the crypto markets with macro commentary, technical analysis, and the most relevant news. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
Weekly Strategy Weekly summary of market events and updates on our key theses. |
![]() |
|||||||
Funding Fridays Are you looking for investment opportunities in the crypto space? We explore early-stage crypto opportunities in this note about where the smart money is being invested! |
![]() |
|||||||
Crypto Concepts We periodically provide in-depth research on the leading protocols, companies, and funds shaping the crypto ecosystem. |
![]() |
|||||||
Liquid Ventures A recurring research note focused on delivering unique insights into high-risk investment opportunities within the crypto ecosystem, primarily centered on early-stage or small-cap tokens. |
![]() |
|||||||
Deep Research We periodically provide in-depth research on the leading protocols, companies, and funds shaping the crypto ecosystem. |
Quarterly | |||||||
Weekly Roadmap Weekly summary of market events and updates on our key theses. |
![]() |
|||||||
Webinars & Videos |
Outlook Webinars Ongoing webinars exploring crypto opportunities, in depth research, and exclusive research offerings from our team of analysts and leading cryptocurrency firms. |
Yearly | ||||||
Crypto Comments |
Daily Technical Strategy From Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana to other coins, our Head of Technical Strategy highlights important price movement to help give you an edge. |
![]() |
||||||
Allocation Tools |
Crypto Core Strategy A powerful tool designed to help crypto investors build a crypto portfolio that outperforms the industry’s king – bitcoin – regardless of market conditions. |
![]() |
||||||
Market Alerts |
⚡️FlashInsights Real-time market commentary about macro and crypto events from our research heads. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Real-Time |

FS Insight Research Team
Type | Publication | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Monthly | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reports | First to Market |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||
*Earnings Daily This note provides investors with a myriad of useful metrics to measure the progress of earnings season |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||
Signal From Noise Highlights timely market themes and sectors with corresponding stocks, cutting through the day-to-day market “noise” for a distinct perspective. |
![]() |
|||||||
Community Questions We gather your inquiries and answer them in the most scalable way. Hear directly from our research principals! |
![]() |
|||||||
FS Insight Academy Our main goal is to make you a better investor! This series will guide you through key financial concepts and topics in an understandable way. |
![]() |
|||||||
Webinars & Videos |
Free Macro Webinars Live webinars and Q&A with our research team and high-profile industry leaders. |
Quarterly | ||||||
Free Crypto Webinars Live webinars and Q&A with our research team and high-profile industry leaders. |
Quarterly |
*Daily reporting during each quarterly earnings season.