Antaeus' Market Commentary

Interesting Numbers

• Value of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, utilities assistance, and emergency food aid available to an unemployed, single mother with two children living in Hawaii: $49,175.  In Mississippi: $16,894. (Cato Institute)
• U.S.

Interesting Numbers

• U.S Housing recovery: home ownership near historical norms at 63.5% vs. 69.1% between 1995 and 2005.  Household debt-to-income is about 99% vs. 120% in 2005.  (Goldman Sachs, March 2013)
• Percentage of those under 30 with student loans at least 90 days late in Q4 2012: 35.

Interesting Numbers

• 01/01/13 average price per 10,000 million British thermal units of natural gas in the United States: $4.03.  In the United Kingdom: $10.11.  In China: $13.70.  In Japan: $14.10.  (J.P.

Interesting Numbers

• Price f a gallon of gasoline in Norway as of 09/12/12: $10.12 (Bloomberg News).
• As of 11/30/12, percentage of price above par value for Emerging Markets Bonds: 9.4%.  U.S. Investment Grade Corporate Bonds: 14.4%.  U.S.

Interesting Numbers

• Average American’s annual savings rate, May 2012: 3.7% (Journal of Financial Planning).
• As of 06/30/12, the average American’s single-family home value has dropped 17% from its peak value on 06/30/07 (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight).
• Based on 2011 sales, 7 of the 10 largest corpora

Interesting Numbers:

• Excluding their primary residences and pension plans, 60% of American workers have accumulated retirement savings of less than $25,000 (Employee Benefit Research Institute).
• The U.S.

Interesting Numbers

• Percentage of profits American corporations paid in taxes in 2010: 10.5. In 1961: 40.6. (Institute for Policy Studies)
• Percentage of the expenses of the U.S. Postal Service represented by labors costs: 80. Percentage at FedEx: 32.

The current environment can be summarized as follows: low government bond yields; low equity market Price-Earnings (P/E) ratios; elevated commodity prices; high volatility; and above-average correlations across asset classes.

With fears of another global recession gripping the world, the 10 year Treasury yield fell below 2% for the first time in history on 08/19/11, and the S&P 500 had fallen -6.4% in 2011 as of August 26th. The volatility in the capital markets over the last 4 years comes down to one word: leverage.