RAMPing into 2026

Before discussing the dovish monetary policy announcement by the FOMC last week, I want to provide a few comments on the technologically challenged private credit/macro zoom I hosted last Tuesday with my good friend John Zito. To those who tuned in, please accept my...

Make 2% Neutral Again

For the last couple quarters, estimates of US real GDP growth have been clocking in at an "exceptional" 4% annualized rate. Over that same time frame, however, the average monthly payroll gain has only been a meager 58k, while the unemployment rate has increased from...

Labor Market Halitosis

The issue of heavy concentration in US equity market returns has been a false red flag for years. In fact, in a piece I penned back in July 2024 entitled "Not every company deserves a participation trophy", I argued that the then omnipresent worries about market...

Will the Treasury twist if the Chinese dump?

October 13, 2025 Before getting to today’s note, I want to highlight some of my upcoming speaking events below. Please contact your JEF salesperson if you are interested in attending. Oct 14: DC – EM Group cocktail event Oct 15: NYC – Groupwide dinner event Oct 16:...

You can’t fatten up the pig the day before the fair

As I was on the driving range one morning getting ready for a Saturday golf game, our club pro was giving me a few tips on how to work a deeper cut shot. In the background, I heard the distinctively southern accent of one of my favorite members. He sauntered over with...

You can’t remove something the Fed never had in the first place

In his 1962 classic essay – Should there be an independent monetary authority? - Milton Friedman posits the following: "The problem is to establish institutional arrangements that will enable government to exercise responsibility for money, yet will at the same time...