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  • S&P500 vs. M2

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Central banks are withdrawing liquidity, and it is having a negative impact on credit and equity markets, see chart below.

    S&P500 highly correlated with global money supply
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist (BBG ticker: .GLMOSUPP G Index, SPX index

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  • The Maturity Wall Looks Manageable for IG and HY

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    As the Fed raises rates, companies with floating rate debt have higher debt servicing costs, and companies refinancing their debt will pay higher interest rates, see charts below.

    The good news is that many companies during the pandemic have termed out their debt into later years, and just 9% of fixed-rate debt is scheduled to mature by the end of 2023.

    High yield debt usually is more vulnerable to rising interest rates, but high yield only makes up 19% of US corporate debt maturing by the end of 2023.

    With the consensus expecting and the market pricing that Treasury yields will peak by the middle of 2023, the bottom line is that the maturity wall looks manageable for both IG and HY.

    Maturity wall for investment grade is manageable
    Source: S&P Global Ratings Research, Apollo Chief Economist. Note: Data as of July 1, 2022. Includes issuers’ investment-grade bonds, loans, and revolving credit facilities that are rated by S&P Global Ratings
    Maturity wall for high yield is manageable
    Source: S&P Global Ratings Research, Apollo Chief Economist. Note: Data as of July 1, 2022. Includes issuers’ speculative-grade bonds, loans, and revolving credit facilities that are rated by S&P Global Ratings.

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  • S&P500 and VIX Today Versus 2007-08

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The current trading pattern seen in the S&P500 and VIX is very similar to the pattern seen in 2007-08, see charts below. Our weekly Slowdown Watch with daily and weekly economic indicators is attached.

    Chart showing the similarity in the S&P500's trading pattern from May 2006 to September 2008 and August 2020 to now
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist
    Chart showing the similarity in the VIX's trading pattern from April 2006 to August 2009 and August 2020 to now
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

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  • Energy Prices Coming Down

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    European energy prices continue to decline, see chart below.

    Chart showing sharp declines in electricity prices in major European countries
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

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  • QT Becoming More and More Important for Markets

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The idea with QE was to lower rates and create a rally in stock markets and credit markets. The idea with QT is the opposite: To push long rates higher, widen credit spreads, and lower stock prices. As QT gears up over the coming months, see chart below, investors should be positioned accordingly.

    Chart showing major central banks winding down asset purchases
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist. Pace of purchases for 2021: BOE: £3.4bn per week till mid December 2021, FED: USD120bn per month with wind down from December with purchases ending in March 2022, ECB: Euro 90bn per month (20 bn APP + 60 bn PEPP), PEPP till March 2022, Euro 40bn in April, Euro 30bn in May and Euro 20bn in June, and only redemptions reinvested from August. BOJ: USD 70bn per month. For 2022: All programs are expected to wind down linearly from January 2022 to December 2022. Fed QT $ 95bn per month from May 2022. BoE starts to sell GBP80 bn in the next 12 months and ECB starts QT in 2Q23.

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  • Outlook for Credit Markets

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The Fed is not going to pivot anytime soon because if the Fed pivots to dovish with inflation at 8%, it will push up inflation even more. The FOMC wants to lower inflation from 8% to 2%, and it has to happen through a tightening of financial conditions via higher rates, wider credit spreads, and lower equities. Our latest credit market outlook is attached.

    Unless otherwise noted, information as of October 2022. Confidential and Proprietary – Not for distribution, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of Apollo Global Management, Inc.
    It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal the performance of the investments shown in this document.

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  • During the pandemic, more people earned income doing TikToks, selling things online, and, more recently, driving Uber, and the growth of the gig economy over the past decade has been very significant. 

    Data from the Fed shows that 27% of US adults earned some money from gigs, and 8% were regular gig workers, in that they spent 20 or more hours in the prior month on gigs. The Fed survey also shows that gig work frequently supplements earnings from a traditional job, nearly half of gig workers also have full-time jobs, while 22% have part-time jobs.

    This gradual shift towards more and more gig workers is complicating the Fed’s efforts at cooling down the economy. The more flexibility workers have with alternative work arrangements, the harder it is for the Fed to slow down aggregate demand because having a job is no longer a binary decision, which is a problem when the FOMC is trying to quickly slow down growth and income in the economy.

    Source: Fed: Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households. Apollo Chief Economist, https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2021-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2020-executive-summary.htm. Note: Among all adults. Respondents could select multiple answers.

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  • Singapore Visitor Arrivals

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Tourism in Singapore is starting to come back to normal, see chart below.

    Chart showing a rebound in Singapore tourism after the pandemic
    Source: Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

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  • US Housing Outlook

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    The Fed is increasing interest rates, and this is starting to have an impact on the housing market. Rising mortgage rates, high home prices, a strong supply pipeline, and high building costs are risks to this housing cycle. Our updated US Housing Outlook is attached.

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  • Slowdown Watch

    Torsten Sløk

    Apollo Chief Economist

    Our weekly slowdown watch PDF is available here, and the incoming data continues to point to an overheating economy, with core PCE inflation in August rising to 4.9% and weekly jobless claims falling to levels not seen since April, see chart below. The interest rate sensitive goods sector of the economy is slowing down, including housing and autos, but the service sector, including restaurants, airline traffic, hotels, concerts, and sporting events, is not showing signs of slowing down. The bottom line is that more Fed hikes are needed to cool down the economy to get inflation back to 2%.

    Source: Department of Labor, Bloomberg, Apollo Chief Economist

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