Ordering dinner, household supplies, or just about anything has never been easier – just click and it appears on your computer or arrives on your doorstep. Some e-commerce names are well established, but for others, growth trajectories are just beginning. E-commerce is still in its adolescence (Amazon sold its first book in 1995), and experts agree decades of solid growth lie ahead. The pandemic accelerated what we already knew – for billions worldwide, shopping online is a must.
As we enter the second half of the year, investors continue to grapple with inflation, higher interest rates, the Fed, and the prospect of a recession. If historical bear markets are any indication, the decisions investors make during this period will have long-lasting effects on their portfolios.
Last week’s report on the country’s Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter confirmed that the economy shrank in the first half of the year, a fact that some investors and economists had already suspected. Broad-based inflation, rising energy prices, higher interest rates, and other factors were a drag on growth for the second consecutive quarter. And while the economy is still 1.6% larger compared to a year ago, even after adjusting for inflation, many are wondering whether we are now in a recession. With clear signs that growth has slowed, how should long-term investors react? In many ways, the current investment environment may be one of the most challenging in years due to a variety of mixed signals. While analyzing economic data in the right context is always difficult, many of today’s market and economic factors can be interpreted as being either good and bad, depending on one’s perspective and priorities. For instance, another major event last week was the Fed raising rates by 75 basis points for the second time in as many meetings. While tighter monetary policy is usually a bad sign for the economy, major indices have rallied in response to the Fed combating inflation. Similarly, slower economic growth and an inverted yield curve would normally be negative for the stock market. However, growth that is only moderately slower, but that helps to ease supply and demand pressures on inflation, can be positive. These data have pulled the 10-year Treasury yield back to around 2.65% from near 3% only a month ago, and many other interest rates, including mortgage rates, have fallen as well. Perhaps more interestingly, the S&P 500 rallied 9.1% in July and has rebounded 12.6% since the middle of June following the Fed meeting that month. This is another reminder to long-term investors that markets can rebound when it’s least expected. In this context, there are a few ways in which investors can interpret the latest GDP numbers. First, does this mean that we’re in a recession? While some consider two consecutive quarters of negative growth to be a recession, sometimes referred to as a “technical recession,” the official definition from the National Bureau of Economic Research is more nuanced and considers a variety of data beyond GDP. The economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter Although growth is negative, many other indicators, especially within the labor market, are still quite strong. Over 1.1 million net new jobs were created during the second quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to 2.7 million jobs. There are still 11.3 million job openings, near the historic peak, which suggests that many companies would still like to hire and expand. So, while some investors and the news media may enjoy debating the meaning of the term “recession,” such strong job dynamics are not consistent with historical economic contractions. It’s also important to keep in mind that the numbers are reported as annual rates. Thus, what 0.9% means is that the economy would have shrunk by this amount had the same trends continued for a full year. In reality, the economy only shrank by a quarter of this amount. Additionally, the GDP numbers are calculated to be in “real” terms, i.e. they subtract the effects of inflation. In “nominal” terms, i.e. with inflationary trends, GDP actually grew by 6.6% in the first quarter and 7.8% in the second quarter. Business investment and inventories were drags on GDP in Q2 Third, while there were slowdowns across the board, including in consumer spending, the biggest detractor in the second quarter was a drop in private inventories among businesses. An important component of the business cycle is the inventory cycle since businesses don’t simply produce everything “just-in-time.” Instead, they need to anticipate future demand and may accumulate inventory. When businesses build up inventories, this boosts economic growth in those quarters at the expense of future periods when they draw down those inventories. This is exactly what happened in the second quarter. In contrast, the second half of last year experienced a strong build-up of inventories which contributed 2.2 and 5.3 percentage points of GDP growth in Q3 and Q4 2021, respectively, as businesses anticipated high demand. The chart above shows that “Gross Domestic Private Investment” detracted from GDP in Q2, and the biggest contributor of that was a two percentage point decrease from private inventories. The market has rallied significantly since mid-June None of this discussion is meant to make excuses for a slowing economy. However, it does underscore the importance of not focusing on any individual economic report or trying to time the market based on these numbers. The fact that the S&P 500 has bounced off of bear market levels, despite all of these seemingly negative events, suggests that there can be many ways to interpret these data. At the moment, the market appears to be most focused on fighting inflation. If price pressures do begin to ease later this year, this could be taken as a positive sign. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in Amplify Funds statutory and summary prospectus, which may be obtained above or by calling 855-267-3837, or by visiting AmplifyETFs.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Amplify ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
The market recovery has stalled once again due to uncertainty around the Federal Reserve (“Fed”). In an environment like this, market expectations matter just as much as the actual numbers, and this is reflected in the yield curve. Today, the yield curve is not just inverted, but is unusually shaped due to the Fed’s battle with inflation and the slowing economy. For long-term investors, what does the yield curve suggest about economic growth and Fed policy in the years ahead? Although the yield curve is a technical concept, the basic idea is simple. A yield curve is just a graph that shows the level of interest rates at different time horizons, or maturities. When investors talk about the yield curve, they are typically referring to one based on government-issued U.S. Treasuries since these are considered to be the safest fixed-income securities. The Yield Curve is Inverted Traditionally, economists and market professionals look at the difference between 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields. When the difference is positive, we say that the yield curve is “steep” (it slopes upward to the right, as it did a year ago). When the difference is small, we say that the yield curve is “flat.” When the difference is negative, i.e. 2-year yields are above 10-year yields, the curve is inverted (it slopes downward to the right), as it is today. This is related to the economy because the yield curve tends to flatten as falling growth expectations push down long-term interest rates. Eventually, long-term rates may fall below short-term rates, which are often still high because of Fed policy, thus causing the yield curve to invert. In contrast, when the economy is expanding or coming out of a recession, the yield curve typically has a positive slope and investors are rewarded with higher yields for holding longer-term bonds. The Fed has reiterated its plan to fight inflation with higher rates The yield curve has already inverted twice this year as the 2-year Treasury yield surpassed the 10-year yield in March and again in July due to the economic slowdown. Today’s unusual curve represents the fact that the Fed will need to keep short-term rates high in order to combat inflation, even as long-term growth expectations fall. As the chart above shows, the market expects the Fed to increase policy rates to at least 3.75% by year end, up from a target range of 2.25% to 2.50% today, before allowing rates to moderate. Thus, the key to understanding this dynamic is that they reflect market expectations today. In other words, investors already know that inflation is high, the economy is decelerating somewhat, and that the Fed is accelerating its rate hikes in order to prevent further price increases. What remains uncertain is how quickly inflation might come down and how long the Fed will keep raising rates. This is one reason markets pulled back when Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in his speech at Jackson Hole, reiterated the Federal Reserve’s dedication to fighting inflation with rates that could remain higher for longer. In the Fed’s view, it is important to fight inflation today to prevent persistent price increases even if it risks slowing the economy further. The housing market has softened As it has all year long, interest rates that remain high or continue to rise could impact investors and consumers in many ways. Mortgage rates, for instance, are at their highest level since the global financial crisis, with the 30-year fixed averaging above 5.5%. These higher borrowing costs have cooled the housing market. The number of housing starts, new building permits, and existing homes sold have declined. The number of months of new home inventory, which is the ratio of new homes for sale vs sold, has risen to 10.9, the highest since the Great Recession. In this environment, investors ought to remain patient. Inflation will take time to cool down which means that the fed funds rate will likely remain high through the first part of 2023. A slowing economy, after the rapid historic recovery over the previous two years, is natural and expected. The fact that the Fed needs to thread the needle between these two challenges increases the odds of market over- and under-reactions. As always, avoiding the urge to overreact, especially during temporary pullbacks and periods of rate volatility, is the key to staying on track to achieve long-term financial goals. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in Amplify Funds statutory and summary prospectus, which may be obtained above or by calling 855-267-3837, or by visiting AmplifyETFs.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Amplify ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
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