Powell Spoils the Party

In this buzz: Jerome H. Powell; Traders Sour on Stocks and Citadel’s Ken Griffin; DOJ, Jet Blue and Spirit and more…

Hawky McHawkFace
The Hon. Jerome H. Powell, or as one commentator referred to him, Hawky McHawkFace, appeared before Congress yesterday for the first day of his two-day testimony on the economy.
Jerry dropped a turd in the proverbial equity punchbowl by saying the quiet part out loud; rates may have to go higher for longer than expected.

What did we expect?
Frankly, Powell’s statements shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. What did we expect? He certainly wasn’t about to declare victory prematurely. Alas, yesterday wasn’t a buy the rumor, sell the fact kind of event. Powell’s comments turned traders sour on stocks and the mood remained foul all day with the Dow closing down on the year.

– Two year treasury note yields rose above 5% for the first time since 2007 and
– Blackrock, amongst others, believe that the Fed could hike rates above 6%.
– Citadel’s Ken Griffin is concerned that the shocking inflation consumers have experienced are leading towards a recession.
He’s not alone.

In other news,
… the DOJ blocked Jet Blue’s takeover of Spirit airlines claiming that the acquisition would increase fares and dimmish competition in an already tightly consolidated industry. Spirit is the country’s largest rock-bottom price airline, and the DOJ is concerned that the merger would ✳eliminate about half the bargain basement seats in the industry.

That’s about it for today. ❗Next up, payroll Friday!